One Piece: Shippuden
by mastergamer14
Summary: The Strawhat crew have finally arrived in the second half of the Grand Line. Can they survive the new adventures that'll come their way? New crew mates, new enemies, new adventures, and same old Luffy.
1. Setting sail on the New World!

**Hey there everyone, Mastergamer here. Right now, I've had this idea for a One Piece story in my head for a while now. I figured that I should put up one chapter to see what you think of it. If I get positive reviews, then I'll work on this story along with Dissidia. Also, after reading, tell me if I should make this story a part of my Dissidia series and I'll think of a way to incorporate it in. By the way, this takes place after the time skip and after the Fishman island arc. Also, expect to see elements from other anime/show in the story. So without further ado, here is this first, hopefully of many, chapter of One Piece: Shippuden (sorry, couldn't resist with the name).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own the OC's and the story arcs.**

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><p><em>Chapter 1: Setting sail on the New World! New faces appear!<em>

The New World. That is what the world calls the second half of the Grand Line. The reputation of this sea is both famous and infamous to the whole world. The waters of New World are so filled with danger that the first half of the Grand Line, Which is a very dangerous sea by itself, is named "Paradise" when compared to the New World. Only the brave, strong, courageous, and sometimes the idiotic, choose to enter this sea willingly. This brings us to the focus of the story…

The waters of New World were, at the moment, as calm as they could get. And on those waters was a ship that has been associated with currently the most (in)famous group to sail the seven seas **(seven seas: East, West, North, and South Blue, White sea, Paradise, and New World)**.

The Thousand Sunny was sailing on the ocean without a care in the world. After settling the crisis on Fishman Island, the Strawhat Pirates now continue their quest on searching for the legendary treasure: One Piece. Said pirate crew were preoccupied with their professions/hobbies: the green-haired swordsman Zoro is currently lifting weights in the crow's nest/training room, the orange-haired thief/navigator Nami is in her room working on her maps of the grand Line, the long-nosed sniper Usopp and the cyborg shipwright Franky were currently working on some sort of invention that would either help the crew or just because they think it's cool, the small reindeer doctor Tony Tony Chopper was in the infirmary studying medicine that was used on Fishman Island, the archeologist Nico Robin was in the library reading some of the books she acquired from Fishman island, the smoking chef Sanji was in the kitchen preparing lunch for the rest of the crew, the skeleton musician Brook was in the ship's aquarium writing some new songs that popped into his brain, though since he is a skeleton he doesn't have a brain **(skull joke!)**, and finally, the strawhat captain Monkey D. Luffy was currently on the ship's figurehead, eagerly waiting for the next island and their next adventure.

Luffy was scanning the ocean for any islands to land on, and mostly some fish so he could eat, when all of a sudden…

_THUMP!_

The Sunny then shook violently as it seems to have crashed into something. The rest of the crew stopped what they were doing and came on to the deck to see what happened.

"What the hell was that?" yelled out Sanji

"Did we hit something?" asked Robin

Seeing that Luffy was on the figurehead of the ship, Zoro called out to the captain.

"Hey Luffy! Did we hit anything?" Zoro called out

The captain, wanting to know what temporally stopped their voyage, complied with the swordsman and looked over the figurehead and into the water.

"Hey, there's something floating in the water!" he yelled out

Hearing that, the rest of the crew ran towards the front of the ship and looked down into the water. True enough, their eyes lay on an object that was floating a few feet from the ship; no doubt it was what collided with the Sunny. It was almost submerged completely in the water, so the crew couldn't see what they hit.

"What do you think it is?" asked Chopper

Not waiting for anyone to answer, Luffy, using his rubber powers, stretched his arm down to the unknown object and wrapped his arm around it. With a strong tug, Luffy pulled the object out of the water and, when he raised his arm and the object over the deck, let go of the object, which landed with a hard thud on the deck. The rest of the crew just sighed at their captain's lack of gentleness before turning to the thing that was now lying on their deck. To say they were shocked at what they saw was an understatement.

Lying on the deck was a person, and not just a person, a fishman. The fishman was large and tall, as tall as Brook. He had a very muscular body and looked to be a shark fishman, a great white shark to be exact. His body was dark gray with his chest and stomach colored white. He also had three dorsal fins; the first two on his arms, one on each elbow, and one on the back of his head. He had clawed hands and feet and had very sharp teeth in his mouth **(he resembles Kisame when he merges with the Sharkskin sword)**. All that he was wearing was a worn out dark-blue vest, black pants that ended at his shins, and black wrist guards. The fishman, who looked very intimidating, was currently unconscious, if the comically dazed look on his face was any indication as well as the large bump on his head. It's safe to say that the crew found what their ship hit.

"It's a fishman!" stated a surprised Nami

Throwing caution to the wind, like always, Luffy was now poking the fishman, on the bump on his head, with a stick to see if he was still alive.

"Hey, are you dead?" he asked the unconscious fishman

"Luffy! Don't do that! What if it wakes up and decides to eat us for hitting It." a freaked out Usopp pointed out with exaggeration.

"I doubt he's going to eat us, but it is likely that he'll be a bit upset with us for hitting him with our ship." Robin logically pointed out.

"So, what do we do?" asked Nami

"I'd say that we take him to the infirmary to recover," Robin said before turning to Zoro and Sanji, "Mr. Swordsman, Mr. Cook, if you don't mind." She said, gesturing to the unconscious fishman, whom Luffy was still poking with a stick. Said swordsman just grunted in response while Sanji, as always, gushed over Robin in compliance before dragging Zoro over to their knocked-out guest. Just as they reached the fishman and gently pushed Luffy away (gently being a kick to the head from Sanji), out of nowhere a fog appeared and covered the water and the whole ship.

This fog was a light-purple color and was very thick. The crew could still see each other but couldn't see the rest of the ship or the ocean. This fog put everyone on edge.

"W-what's going on here?" asked Usopp, who was clearly a bit creeped out.

"This fog is giving me goosebumps, but I'm a skeleton so I don't have skin, yohohoho skull joke!" joked Brook, although he was a bit nervous from the mysterious fog.

"This doesn't make sense. There was nothing in the weather to suggest a fog would appear." Stated Nami, confused as to how the fog appeared, she then turned to Franky.

"Franky, Steer the ship out of the fog, we don't want to risk hitting something again." She ordered

"Right, I'll get right to it." replied Franky, who then started to walk over to the steering wheel. But, just as he got half way there, Franky started to sway side to side. He then stopped and held his hand to his head.

"Ugh, I don't feel super right now-" before he could finish, Franky fell backwards on the deck and was now sound asleep.

"Franky?" cried out Chopper before he started his way towards the now slumbering cyborg. But, just as he reached Franky, the small reindeer started to sway back and forth as well.

"Ugh, why is my head all spiny-" groaned a dizzy Chopper before, he too, fell asleep on the deck.

Before anyone else could react, the rest of the crew started to feel dizzy before each one of them fell on the deck, fast asleep. There were now ten unconscious people on a pirate ship, which was now, because of the ocean's currents, heading towards a large rock formation. The rock formation almost led up to the sky, while its length was so great that the ends of it seem to go on for miles. The current was leading the Thousand Sunny to a large cave. With the whole crew fast asleep, the Sunny was swept into the cave.

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><p>On an island in New World, a port town was bustling with activity. It is also here that a marine ship was docked. The ship was docked at this island because of a gang of pirates the marines were chasing were tracked to the island. This marine ship belonged to none other than Vice-Admiral Smoker. He and his men were currently searching through the town for the pirates. Said vice-admiral, along with Captain Tashigi, was making his way through the crowds of the city back to the ship after searching for two hours to regroup with his men. Just as they were passing through the marketplace, a crowd started to form at the end of the street. Curiosity getting to them, the two marines made their way to the crowd. After making their way to the front of the crowd the marines saw that people were gathering around the local tavern. Crashes and yells were emanating from the inside.<p>

Before anyone could react, something was thrown out of one of the tavern's windows. Lying on the ground was a very scary looking, very large pirate. At the same time, the doors to the tavern were thrown open. The person that walked out looked more intimidating than the pirate, who was now picking himself of the ground. The man was of average size and build, and was completely garbed in black. From the black boots to the black trench coat he was wearing, the man looked like someone no one should think to cross. What really added to his intimidation was the black gasmask that covered his entire head. The mask was completely flat and smooth and had two eye holes that were covered with black lenses, shielding his eyes from others **(his appearance and fighting style is based on the assassin from the first Hellboy movie. The difference is that he isn't disfigured under the mask. Also he is also not really an OC, his identity will be revealed later in the story)**. Even though it didn't show, the man's gaze was directed at the pirate, who was now back on his feet.

"Bastard, do you know who I am!" the pirate yelled, "You'll pay for this insult!"

"If you didn't want this to happen then you shouldn't have tried to pick a fight with Me." stated the masked man in calm, monotone voice.

The pirate just growled angrily at the man, "I know who you are. You're that swordsman pirate, X-blade **(pronounced 'Cross Blade')**. You were known as a fierce pirate that traveled the Grand Line, but that's going to change after I've kicked your ass!"

"Huh, then come and try." challenged the masked man.

With a yell, the pirate drew his sword and charged at X-blade. Before anyone could even blink, X-blade was now a few feet in front of the crowd, with what looked like a bladed tonfa in his right hand, and the pirate lying on the ground with a large diagonal cut on his chest. From a medic's point of view, they would see that no major parts were hit and that the slash was meant to knock out the pirate.

As soon as they saw the pirate on the ground, the crowd turned tail and ran, not wanting to incur the wrath of the masked pirate. As the crowd dispersed, X-blade spotted two people who stayed.

"Marines, eh? The rest of this guy's crew is in the tavern incapacitated. I'd get to detaining them right away if I was you." said X-blade.

Smoker and Tashigi looked down at the fallen pirate, sure enough; it was the pirate they tracked down to the island. They looked at each other before turning back to X-blade, hands now resting on the handles of their weapons.

"If what he said was true, then we should be detaining you as well." stated Smoker, who held a tight grip on his jutte.

The masked man just chuckled and shook his head at the vice-admiral's words.

"I guess it's true what they say, no good deed goes unpunished." and with that, X-blade raised his tonfa sword in front of him, daring Smoker to make a move.

Smoker and Tashigi drew their weapons and were about to attack, but a voice called out to them.

"Now, now X** (pronounced 'cross')**, they're only doing their duty as marines."

The sword users turned to where the voice came from. Calmly making their way towards them was a marine. The marine seemed to be a high-ranking officer, if the marine coat draped on his shoulders was any indication. He had short, messy brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a dark-green shirt, brown vest, jeans, and black army boots. He had an amused expression on his face as he stopped before the two other marines.

"Vice-Admiral Smoker, is it? I think there's been a misunderstanding here. I'm sure we could clear some things up." proclaimed the marine.

"Humph, and just who are you?" asked Smoker, demanding more than asking.

The marine chuckled before bowing, "Commodore Drake Winters, nice to meet you. And I'm afraid that you'll have let X go."

"And we'd let a pirate go, why?" Smoker demanded.

"Because, he is under my command." replied Drake.

"Command? What do you mean?" asked a confused Tashigi.

"Exactly as I said," answered Drake before gesturing to X, "X here is currently my partner in enforcing the law."

"Partner? If you haven't noticed, he's a pirate." Tashigi pointed out.

"That may be, but there's an expression that states 'It takes a thief to catch a thief'. X and I have come to an arrangement that's beneficial for both of us; he helps me enforce justice and I let him 'do what he does best' against other pirates. In other words, you have to let him go now."

Tashigi was about to protest to the very idea of working with a pirate when Smoker let out a grunt and put away his jutte.

"Fine, as long as you keep him on a short leash, you won't hear any complaints from me." proclaimed Smoker, as he turned and started to walk towards the entrance of, the now ruined, tavern, probably to go detain the pirates inside. Drake turned to Tashigi and grinned.

"Well then, let's clean things up here, shall we?"

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><p>After properly restraining the pirates, Smoker was on his ship, a stern look on his face as he surveyed his men taking the pirates to the ship's brig. Hearing someone walking up the gangplank, the commodore turned to see Tashigi, Drake, and X arriving on the deck. Tashigi saluted to Smoker while Drake just grinned and waved and X was just surveying the ship.<p>

"Sir, I came to inform you that this town doesn't have the provisions we need to restock. We may have to restock on the next island before heading back to G-5." The captain informed her commanding officer.

Smoker just grunted in response when Drake spoke up.

"If I may make a suggestion." he started, "There's an island close by that can accommodate the needs of any marine. You can restock there and it just so happens that I'm heading there myself, so I can show you the way."

Smoker thought it over before grunting a reply.

"Fine. Like Tashigi said; we need to resupply. We're about done here, so go get your ship ready so we can leave."

In response to that response, Drake just grinned sheepishly and started scratching the back of his head while X just sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah… here's the thing," Drake started, "That's part of the reason why we're going to the next island; my men left us behind."

"What!" exclaimed Tashigi while at that moment, Smoker permanently branded this guy as an idiot.

"It was because this guy has the worst sense of time I've ever seen." stated an annoyed X **(Note: Drake's sense of time is just as bad as Zoro's sense of direction)**, "He could look at a clock and see that its five after two and his brain tells him it now midnight."

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that the departure time was moved to six?" Drake whined.

"First of all, the departure time never changed, it was still at three." a now really annoyed X explained, as if to a child, "Second, we didn't arrive at six, we arrived at ten!"

As this was going on, Smoker and Tashigi just stared at the two as they bickered, blank looks on their faces as they wondered how Drake ever made it pass chore boy.

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><p>A groan escaped Nami's lips as she started to regain consciousness. The haze clearing from her vision, she sat up on the ship's deck to look around her. She, along with the rest of the crew, was lying down on the deck. Looking past the ship's railing Nami saw that the ship was now drifting through a dark cavern. She was broken out of her thoughts as the rest of the crew started wake from their slumber, except for Luffy as he was still asleep, snoring.<p>

"Ugh… who decided it was nap time?" asked a groggy Zoro, rubbing his now aching head.

The crew, minus Luffy, were now back on their feet. Confusion marred their faces as they saw their current location.

"W-where are we?" Usopp nervously asked.

"It looks like the ship drifted into some kind of cave while we were out cold." answered Nami.

As they were wondering what to do now, a new voice spoke out.

"Well, it looks like you guys finally woke up."

Turning to where the voice came from, the crew was welcomed by the sight of the fishman they 'fished' out of the sea coming out of the kitchen, half-eaten apple in hand.

"Hey there." he greeted.

The sharkman saw some of them tense up at his appearance, so he put up his hands in front of him.

"Hey now, I come in peace." he said.

Everyone seemed to loosen up, except for Zoro and Sanji, who stayed on their guard. Robin then decided to speak to their 'guest'.

"I see that you're recovering from your head injury quite quickly." the archeologist observed.

The fishman just chuckled and raised his hand to his head, "Yeah, I'm a quick healer. Hey, since you guys, in a way, rescued me, do any of you know what I hit?"

At this, the crew started to look in various directions to avoid the fishman's wondering gaze, each of them having a look of 'innocence' on their faces. Lucky for them, the fishman was none the wiser.

"I guess that's a no. Oh well, guess there's no worrying about it now." he stated.

The crew mentally let out their breath, glad that they don't have to explain that there's probably a dent the size of the fishman's head in the front of the ship. The weird moment out of the way, Chopper asked their guest a question.

"Um… excuse me but, just what are you doing?" the small reindeer asked.

"Well, I woke up about a few minutes before you did and a saw that you guys were out of it, so I thought I'd find something to use to help out." the fishman explained, "But it looks like everything worked out right," he said before turning his gaze to a still snoozing Luffy, "At least I think it did, is he okay?"

"Don't worry about him; he's fine." assured Nami, "What I do want to know is what caused us to black out in the first place, it probably had something to do with that purple mist from before."

"What you experienced was probably a natural gas mist." the fishman answered, "You see, in New World, natural gases escape from the ocean floor and reach the surface. The gases take the form of a purple mist, while the gases aren't toxic they can act as a tranquilizer to those who breathe them in and these gas mists happen randomly so nobody can really know when they appear."

The crew seems to have accepted the explanation. It was then Franky decided to speak up.

"Yo, we really haven't properly introduced. Just who are you?"

The fishman gained what seemed to be a look of pride at the question.

"The name's Mikal, world's greatest explorer." the fishman proclaimed with pride.

The crew each introduced themselves to Mikal. After learning the crew's names, Mikal made an observation of their surroundings.

"It looks like we've sailed right into the rapid caverns." he stated, "That would be a problem for any other ship."

This seems to have caught the crew's attention.

"Rapid caverns?" asked Robin.

"The rapid caverns are a series of caverns and tunnels that are filled with dangerous rapids and high waterfalls. There are different entrances and paths in the caverns, but they all lead to the other side of the caverns, back to the outside." explained Mikal.

"So all we have to do is navigate through the caverns and we'll be able to get out of this place." inquired Usopp.

"It's not gonna be that simple. While we'll be able to reach the end no matter what path we take, the water current is so strong that any ship will crash into the cave wall before they're able to turn the ship in a new direction. From the looks of things, I'd say that we entered the caverns not too long ago, so we may have a few minutes before things get rough."

That statement seems to have unnerved the crew a bit.

"Oh my, just hearing that makes my skin crawl, but I'm a skeleton so I have no ears or skin, Yohohoho Skull joke!" laughed Brook, though he was genuinely concerned.

Everyone thought on what to do to safely get out of the caverns. Robin then asked Mikal another question.

"You said that this would've been a problem for any other ship, you say it like you now that we'll get out of here safely."

The fishman just chuckled and a grin full of pride made its way on his face, "That's because you have me. No matter what the conditions are or what ship I'm on, I'll be able to sail that ship with no problem."

"That's a pretty bold statement. If what you say is true, then you better live up to it because I'm starting to here the rapids up a head." stated Zoro, pointing in the direction the ship was heading, sure enough, rapids could be seen getting closer.

"Don't worry, just leave it to Me." assured Mikal, "I just need to see the schematics for this ship, do any of you have them?"

Hearing this, Franky reached into his shirt and pulled out the blueprints for the Thousand Sunny he had on him just in case. Giving the fishman the blue prints, he saw that Mikal was flipping through the pages very fast, but he saw that Mikal's eyes were memorizing everything they saw. After flipping through the blueprints and memorizing every detail of the Sunny in a few seconds, Mikal gave them back to Franky and spoke up.

"This is quite the ship you have here." He complemented before getting serious, "Now, that Coup de Burst, can it work in small, short bursts?"

Franky thought about what he asked, "We've never done that before, but… it's possible."

"Good. Franky, go down below and get ready to use the Coup de Burst when I tell you to."

Franky just nodded his head and left to go below deck. Mikal then turned to the rest of the crew, and Luffy who was just waking up.

"You guys might want to hold on to something, it's going to be a bumpy ride." he warned before heading towards the ship's steering wheel.

Everyone replied to this by grabbing on to something that was bolted down. Luffy, now fully awake, was confused as he saw his crew grab onto different parts of the ship and the large fishman now at the wheel.

"What are you guys doing, is it a game? Why's the shark at the steering wheel?" the captain asked, oblivious to their current situation.

"Luffy! We're not playing a game, we're about to be in hot water and he's going to help us!" Nami yelled as she pointed to the rapidly approaching rapids.

Looking to where she was pointing to, Luffy saw the rapids as they decreased in distance. Luffy then got an excited look on his face along with a large grin.

"Cool! This is going to be fun!" Luffy cheered.

"Luffy you idiot, this is no time to get excited!" yelled Zoro, however, his words fell on deaf ears as Luffy ran to the ship's figurehead and sat down.

"Alright! Full steam ahead Mr. Shark!" the simple minded captain cheered.

Just as the crew was about to scold Luffy, their attention was drawn to Mikal as he started to chuckle.

"Hehe… That's the idea, Strawhat!" he said as he reached for the lever next to the wheel.

"Now then, let's get started!" Mikal then moved the lever, activating the Soldier Dock System.

"Soldier Dock System: Channel Zero!"

From each side of the ship a paddle wheel appeared. The whole crew, minus Luffy, went wide-eyed at this.

"What're you doing! That'll just make us go faster into the rapids!" yelled Sanji.

"Like I said; that's the idea!" Mikal stated as the ship picked up speed and was now heading for the rapids.

Not even a second later, did the Sunny enter the rapids. The currents were flowing beyond fast, adding the ship's increase in speed due to the paddles now activated, the Sunny was now speeding down the rapids, as if the ship was shot out of a canon. The crew held on to dear life, while Luffy was just laughing, having the time of his life as he held onto the figurehead and kept a grip on his hat. Moments later, the ship was rapidly approaching a sharp left turn. Due to the rapid currents, any other ship would crash into the wall before its crew could even turn the ship. Mikal, with all his strength, turned the ship to the left. The Sunny was now facing left, but was still heading towards the cave wall.

"Franky! Do it now!" Mikal yelled.

From below deck, Franky heard Mikal and started up the burst.

"_**Coup de Mini Burst!**_"

Just as the ship reached the sharp turn, a small, concentrated burst came from the ship's rear canon, narrowly avoiding the cave wall and propelling the ship down the new tunnel. The paddle wheels and the burst were able allow the ship to follow the new current and the ship was now speeding down the tunnel. This process was repeated many times; turn the ship, activate the burst, and use the paddle wheels to set the ship on the new current. True to his word, Mikal was effortlessly and expertly steering the ship through the caverns. The way he was steering the ship would've given anyone the impression that he has been steering the ship for years, even the Sunny's crew were starting to think that thought. After what seemed to be thirty minutes of riding the rapids, Mikal caught something in his sights. Up ahead, after the end of the tunnel, was a large, open, seemingly bottomless cavern. Also, at the end of the tunnel, was a water fall and what seemed to be a vicious, sheer drop. At the other side of the carven was another tunnel opening with its own water fall. After seeing this, Mikal quickly came up with a plan.

"Hey! One of you take the wheel!" he called out to one of the crew. Sanji answered the call and, with much difficulty, reached and held the steering wheel. Before he could ask what the fishman had in mind, said fishman started running towards the figurehead. Luffy couldn't describe how much fun he was having right now, all those sharp turns and high speeds kept him, literally, on the edge of his seat. He too saw what was up ahead and he couldn't wait to see how they were going to deal with this. His was cut from his thoughts as Mikal suddenly landed next to him in a crouched position.

"What are you doing?" asked the curious captain. Mikal just turned to him and offered a grin.

"Oh, you'll see." he said before turning towards the ship's deck, "Franky! A strong burst, right now!" after that, Mikal jumped off the ship and into the water.

Below deck, Franky heard Mikal and prepped a stronger burst.

"This is going to be super! **_Coup de Medio Burst_**"

Just as the Sunny reached the edge of the waterfall, a stronger short burst was released, propelling the ship across the cavern. The crew saw the tunnel entrance on the other side of the cavern getting closer, but, just as they thought they were going to make it, the ship started to lose altitude. No longer having any momentum, the ship was now plummeting towards the bottomless pit, the front of the ship facing the ceiling. The crew responded well to this.

"AHHHHH! WE'RE GONNA DIE!" screamed Luffy, Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Brook as they were now holding on to dear life. Zoro and Robin didn't scream, but were none the less scared at wit's end. Sanji, seeing as this could be their last moments alive, tried to make his way to either Nami or Robin to 'comfort' them in their final moments, but doing so would cause him to lose his grip on the ship and fall off, so he stayed where he was while mentally crying about not being near Nami or Robin right now. Below deck, Franky was forced against the ceiling as the ship fell. Just as hope seemed lost, something happened. As the ship was falling, the bottom of the ship made contact with the water. All of a sudden, the Sunny stopped its freefall. Before anyone could figure what was going on, the ship started moving, but this time upwards; the ship was sailing up the waterfall. Under the Sunny, inside the waterfall, was Mikal, swimming up the waterfall, carrying the Thousand Sunny on his back. The crew held on to the ship as it sailed up the waterfall. A few seconds later, the ship sailed past the edge of the waterfall. After being in the air for a few seconds, the ship landed on the stream leading to the waterfall. The ship's paddle wheels, which were still active, allowed the ship to sail into the tunnel, against the current, which was starting to calm down a bit.

Soon enough, the current came to a complete stop. The ship was now relying on the paddle wheels to move it forward. The crew, including Franky who came up on deck, started to pick themselves up and calm their racing hearts. The silence was broken by a certain person.

"That… was… AWSOME!" yelled an excited Luffy.

The response to this was a fist to the skull, courtesy of an annoyed Nami. Soon, everyone was on deck, relieved that the worst was over. To strengthen this point, the crew could begin to see light at the end of the tunnel. A few minutes later, the Thousand Sunny was now out of the rapid caverns. Everyone was glad to be outside again. But then they noticed something.

"Hey, where's Mikal?" asked Usopp.

"Right here."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the side of the ship. Mikal was climbing over the railing and onto the deck. He was dripping wet from carrying the ship through the last part of the caverns. The others made their way towards him.

"That was amazing! I've never seen anyone sail a ship like that." Stated Usopp as he, Luffy, and Chopper were in awe of what the fishman did.

Mikal just let out a chuckle and scratched his head, "Well, like I said; there's no ship that I can't sail." he stated with pride.

"That was awesome! The way you steered the ship through those rapids was amazing!" Luffy exclaimed, "I've decided, you're joining our crew."

Mikal became surprised at Luffy sudden declaration. The rest of the crew seems to agree with their captain.

"That wouldn't be a bad idea. It'd be great to have a helmsman of your caliber on the ship." concluded Nami.

"Really? Huh… I've never thought of joining a pirate crew." said Mikal, "All I've done till now was explore the seas looking for exotic places by myself." The shark fishman now had a thoughtful look on his face, "Hmm… I think I need some time think it over."

"Come on, it'll be great!" reasoned Luffy, "We'll see all kinds of cool stuff and places, we'll go on many adventures, and we'll have lots of fun. Plus, it'll cool to have a fishman in the crew."

"Fishman?" asked a confused Mikal before he looked down at himself, "Oh! Huh… sometimes I forget to change back."

That statement confused the crew. But, before one of them could ask what he meant, he did a surprising thing. Mikal now started to shrink in size, as well as his clothes. His skin started to turn from gray and white to tan. His feet and hands lost their claw-like appearance. His dorsal fins shrunk until they were non-existent. Hair started to grow on his head and his body started to change shape. The Strawhat Pirates were surprised to see that in the place of the shark fishman was now a regular human. He had short black hair and blue eyes. He looked to be the same age and size as Zoro and Sanji. His build was the same as Zoro's. The crew was shocked at what they just saw. The man just smiled and waved.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself; the name's Mikal, world's greatest explorer and helmsman. I also ate the Same-Same no Mi, Model: Great White **(Shark-Shark Fruit, Model: Great White)**.

_To Be Continued…_

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><p><strong>And that has been the first chapter for One Piece: Shippuden. I hope you liked it. I plan on twelve new members to join the Strawhat Crew, as you can see, one has already shown up, but he won't officially join until the end of this arc. I hope you liked this story. Like I said before, enough reviews and I'll continue the story, maybe even make it a part of my Dissidia series. I'll also get to work on the new chapter for Dissidia. Remember, read and review. Mastergamer out.<strong>


	2. Oceana Island!

**Hey there, Mastergamer here. After thinking about what to do first, I decided to do the second chapter of One Piece: Shippuden before I get to work on Call to Battle: Bleach. I hope you like the characters and story arc I make. I also thought of an interesting plot twist that I hope you'll all like. Also, be prepared to see a well known character join the cast. Now, here is the start of the Oceana Island Arc. Read and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece, but I do own the OC's.**

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><p><em>Chapter 2: Oceana Island! Pirates and Marines Playing Nice?<em>

The Strawhat Pirates couldn't believe their eyes. They have seen things that throw them for a loop despite knowing that the Grand Line is filled with unbelievable things, and this was one of them.

Looking at the man standing in front of them, they couldn't decided what was more unbelievable; seeing the man change from a fishman into a human or that there's a devil fruit that changes a person into a sea animal. The silence was broken by Luffy; it was easy to guess his reaction.

"SO COOL!"

"Hehe… thanks." Mikal accepted the compliment. The captain's outburst shook the rest of the crew out of their stupor.

"W-wait a minute, you're a human?" asked Nami.

"Yep!"

"Wow, I didn't know there were devil fruits that change people into sea animals." commented Usopp.

"Yeah. Sea animal Zoan-type devil fruits are very rare, I only found mine by chance during an exploration." replied Mikal.

"Wait a minute, how were you able to swim back there if you ate a devil fruit; devil fruits take away a person's ability to swim." asked Franky.

"Well, I did eat a devil fruit that turns me into an animal that can swim. In the end, the devil fruit's power cancelled out its curse." Explained Mikal, a look of pride appeared on his face, "I'm probably the only devil fruit user that still has the ability to swim."

The whole crew was astounded that such a devil fruit existed. Just as they were about to ask more questions to Mikal, Usopp spotted something in the distance.

"Hey, I see something!"

Everyone went to the ship's railing in the direction the sniper was pointing to. The object that they set their eyes on was an island. Judging by the rate the ship is heading, they'd most likely reach the island in two to three hours. Despite that, they could make out some features of the island. To say it was big was an understatement; it looked like it'd take a week to circle the island just one time. Even from their distance, they could spot a large city. From a bird's eye view, one would see that the city covered most of the island and an extremely large lake lies in the center of the island, which was surrounded by a large forest, which in turn had the city surrounding it. The crew was in awe of the island.

"Wow! That's a big island!" stated an awed Chopper.

"Heh… that's not just any island, that's Oceana Island." explained Mikal.

"Oceana Island?" asked Nami.

"Yep, it's a very special island that gains a lot of attention and is very important for those that travel New World."

"How's one island important for traveling through New World?" asked a curious Robin.

Seeing everyone's curious gazes, Mikal proceeded to tell them all about their next location.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere on Smoker's ship was what you'd find on any marine ship. Said vice-admiral was currently in the ship's training room lifting weights and sending a glare at anyone who bothered him. The marines on the ship were doing their assigned duties to get the ship to their next destination. There were only three people who were bored out of their minds.<p>

Tashigi, Coby, and Helemppo were on the ship's deck with nothing to do. Ever since Vice Admiral Garp retired, Coby and Helemppo have been transferred to Smoker's command. They were certainly looking forward to the exciting missions that a guy like Smoker would most certainly get. This was not one of those times. No mission except to resupply and training drills done for the day, these three were bored out of their minds.

"Wow, didn't think anyone would be bored on a ship belonging to a guy like Smokes."

The three marines turned their heads to the source of the voice. Standing before them was their current guest: Commodore Drake Winters. He had an amused expression on his face from seeing the state the three were in. The bored atmosphere quickly evaporated as the three marines quickly stood up and saluted the high ranking officer.

"At ease soldiers, no need to be jumpy around someone who's not your commanding officer." stated Drake, smiling as he saw the three marines loosen up. Tashigi decided speak to the Commodore.

"Sir, what brings you to the deck, and where is your _'partner'_?" she asked, the last word said a bit uneasily.

"Just thought I'd take a look around." Drake answered, "As for X, he's back in his room resting."

Drake then turned his head in the direction the ship was sailing. In the distance was a large island.

"Well, it looks like we're almost at our destination." he announced, the other three looking towards the island as well. Coby decided to ask a question.

"Sir, just what is the island we're heading to?"

Drake adopted a look of deep thought before turning to the three curious marines.

"We're heading towards Oceana Island. An island with an interesting story to tell."

This got the marines' attention. Drake chuckled at their interested expressions, deciding to tell them all about the island.

"Oceana Island is a large island with a large city. Anyone can find any supplies they're looking for on the island, making it a very important island in New World." Drake described, "But, there is something you should know about the island."

"What's that?" asked Helemppo.

"The island isn't a part of the world government. It's a sovereign nation"

Now this piece of information surprised the three marines. Tashigi gained enough sense to ask the Commodore the question that was on their minds.

"B-but how is that possible! Almost all countries and islands in the world are a part of the world government. How can this island be a sovereign nation?"

A serious expression made its way on Drake's face. He answered the question truthfully.

"That can be attributed to the island's greatest resource."

"And what would that be?" asked Coby.

"Kolto." answered Drake. **(Star Wars fans should know what Kolto is.)**

"Kolto?" asked Tashigi.

"Kolto is a very amazing substance that only grows in the lake in the center of the island. It has incredible healing properties; a person suffering from injuries that would take months to heal only needs to spend a few days in the stuff to be fully healed."

"T-that's incredible! How come we've never heard of it before?" asked an astounded Coby.

"That's because Oceana doesn't want to be overwhelmed by greedy tourists, so to make sure too many people don't bury the island, Oceana's government convince those who use kolto not to mention its existence outside of New World."

"How do they do that?" inquired Helemppo.

"Common sense. If too many people come for the kolto then the demand would become too high, resulting in the island's supply draining to almost nonexistent. Then there wouldn't be enough kolto for the peoples' demands. And all the 'horrible' stories about New World help too."

The marines were in deep thought. That did seem like a logical reason to keep the knowledge of kolto within New World, but it still didn't explain a few things.

"Okay, I think I understand how important kolto is, but how does that give the island its sovereign status?" asked a curious Tashigi.

"Well, that's a bit of interesting information there. You see, Oceana doesn't agree with the world governments 'ideas' so they choose to remain independent. Normally, the world government wouldn't be too 'pleased' with this, but the kolto is too valuable to overlook, so in exchange for allowing marines to obtain kolto, Oceana remains independent. That also means that, unless requested to, the world government can't interfere with Oceana's private affairs. It all comes down to the world government valuing the kolto. That, and Oceana threatens to destroy all the kolto if the government tries anything."

"What! Why would Oceana destroy something that valuable?" a surprised Helemppo asked.

"Well, the people of Oceana value their independence more than the kolto, they won't think twice about destroying it if the world government decides to take it."

"Wow, those are some serious conditions." commented Tashigi.

"It is, but those conditions don't just apply to the world government and marines, it also applies to pirates."

"What! Oceana sells kolto to pirates?" exclaimed Coby.

"Yes, Oceana does that to achieve neutrality. By being neutral and selling kolto to both the world government and pirates, they decrease the chance of one side coming and taking the kolto by force. And to make sure that both sides stay in line, Oceana lay down rules which will be broken if any problems occur from the marines or the pirates. In other words, pirates have to refrain from doing illegal actions while on the island, marines have no authority on the island, unless requested to directly intervene, and both pirates and marines have to refrain from fighting each other while on the island. Breaking any of these rules could result in Oceana's government destroying the kolto. In other words, marines and pirates have to tolerate the other's presence while on the island, so don't be surprised to see a marine and a pirate walking on the same street on the island, although with a bit of hostility."

The three marines took in what Drake said with the utmost consideration. Oceana Island went to extremes to preserve their independence and peace. Going to the island meant refraining from arresting all the pirates that were going to be on the island. But, being the respectful marines they are, they will abide by those rules so that no problems will occur. They were broken out of their thoughts when Drake continued to speak.

"When you think about it, it all goes back to the kolto and how everyone wants It." he stated, "To keep everything calm, everyone has to follow a certain pattern: go to the island, follow the rules, buy a certain amount of kolto, and leave. A very simple process, and if they run out of the kolto they got, people could just come back and refill."

The marines nodded at what was said. It did seem like a fair deal.

The marines processed all that they've learned. It looked like New World had some interesting places. They turned back to Drake when he spoke up.

"Well what do you know? It looks like our talk killed some time." he said while looking towards their current destination. True enough, the island was now a lot closer; it looked like they'd reach the island in twenty minutes.

"By my count, it looks like we'll get there in about five hours." he stated.

The three marines just stared at the commodore with blank expressions. This guy was bad at telling time.

* * *

><p>The Strawhats just gawked at Mikal, what they heard fresh in their heads. Oceana Island had such an interesting status and amazing resource. They were brought out of their thoughts when Mikal spoke up.<p>

"Hey, it looks like about to reach the island." he proclaimed.

Following his gaze, the crew saw that Oceana was now only a few minutes away. It didn't take long for the crew to start preparing to land. Five minutes later, the Thousand Sunny was now docked in one of the island's many ports. Normally, the crew would be careful where they docked when arriving on an island, given their pirate status. But, after learning about how the island operated, the crew was free to make port in public, knowing that they weren't going to be bothered on this island.

The port was bustling with activity. Merchant shops were showing their wares to curious civilians. Ships of different makes, most were civilian, pirate, or marines vessels, were docked and their crews loading and unloading various items. True to what they heard, pirates and marines were heading from the port to the city and back again. Some pirates and marines avoided each other, while some just ignored the other's presence. Though there were some that, to the Strawhats' surprise, were conversing with each other; some pirates and marines were in heated arguments due to their clashing career choices, while others were, surprisingly, listening to adventure stories the others had, curiosity about the tales from those on the other side of the law laying their natural animosity towards each other to rest for the moment.

The Strawhats and Mikal were walking down the dock towards the port and, from there, make their way into the city to get supplies. They stopped when they spotted a marine and pirate in a heated discussion at the end of the dock. The pirate was tall, muscled, and mean-looking and wore a tattered vest, pants, and boots. He had various tattoos on his body and had large metal gauntlets on his hands. The marine must've been high ranking, given his dark-blue suit and marine coat. The blond marine had his blue eyes glaring at the pirate, who was glaring with just as much intensity.

"I'll ask you one last time: stop making trouble and go back to your base, Tekken!" ordered the marine.

The pirate merely laughed at the marine, "Sorry officer, but you don't have any authority here, so I don't have to listen to you." he proclaimed.

"Yeah, but the Aobuke **_(Blue Warriors)_** have authority and everyone knows what will happen if your actions brings them here. I, and most people here, would rather prefer that they don't come."

"Hmph! Those blue punks don't scare me. Besides, won't be long before the boss decides to take over and teach you marines and those other pirates who's in charge." proclaimed Tekken.

"Yeah right! Even Nitrous isn't arrogant enough to go against Oceana's government and even if he was he'd have to face the full force of the Aobuke, as well as the marines stationed here." warned the marine.

"Hmph! We'll see about that!" stated Tekken, who turned around to walk away, "I'm bored now. I think I will go back to base. We'll continue this _'discussion'_ another time." and with that, the iron fisted pirate left.

The marine was irritated from Tekken's words. He was brought out of his thoughts when he noticed that there was an audience that witnessed the _'discussion'_. Looking at the ship they came from, he saw the pirate flag on their mast. Turning back to the group, he spoke.

"New pirates to Oceana, huh? If you're smart then you'll know to not cause trouble here."

The Strawhats were wrapped up in listening what was being said that when the marine spoke they were somewhat startled. Gathering her bearings, Nami responded to the marine.

"There's no need for any trouble. We're just here to restock on supplies."

The marine studied the group carefully before responding.

"You're not lying. In that case, I guess I'm your welcoming committee to Oceana Island. I'm Marine Captain Miles."

"You're a bit nice for a marine confronting pirates." Zoro pointed out.

"Well, if you've been here as long as I have, as well as some the marines and pirates here, the usual tension between the two factions softens a bit." he stated before turning to get another look at the pirate flag on the Thousand Sunny, "From your flag, I take it you guys are the Strawhat Pirates. You guys stirred up a lot of trouble back in Paradise, so don't be surprised if any of the marines new to the island give you the cold shoulder."

"We'll be sure to keep out of trouble." stated Nami, "So, are there any places where we can resupply?"

"Well, there are all sorts of shops that will fulfill your needs, so there's no need to rush. But, given the size of the city, it'd be smart to have a guide." Miles explained, "Since you're new here, I'll give you the grand tour, our conflicting careers put aside."

Normally, being near a marine would be unnerving to the crew, but seeing as the island they're on has rules that make pirates and marines 'civil' with each other, they could be able to go on in piece. Also, Miles seemed like a nice guy. Luffy grinned largely and stepped in front of the marine captain.

"Shishishi, I don't why not. Can you lead us to some meat?" the strawhat captain asked, already hungry for food. The rest of the crew just sighed as their captain's mind was now stuck on food. Miles just laughed at Luffy's eagerness. Turning around, the marine signaled the pirates to follow him as he was about to show them Oceana's sights.

* * *

><p>While the Strawhats were getting a tour of Oceana, Smoker's vessel just anchored on another dock on the island. Smoker's marines were filing down the docks towards the city, looking to restock on provisions. The vice-admiral was now on the dock waiting for his 'guests' to disembark from his ship. Moments later, Commodore Drake Winters and X were walking down the gangplank. Following behind them were Tashigi, Coby, and Helemppo. The marines that were still near the ship saluted Drake and cast uneasy glances at X. When X walked by the marines just noticed that on the back of X's black coat was the same thing that was on the back of the marines' coats; the kanji for 'Justice' was on the back of the pirate's coat. Back to Smoker, the vice-admiral spoke up as Drake, X, Tashigi, Coby, and Helemppo reached him.<p>

"Now that we're here you should go and look for your crew."

"I guess so, though I have to say that it was interesting on your ship. You sure now how to lead." stated Drake as his gaze wandered about the port. His gaze stopped when it hit spotted something at the end of the dock, "Well, what do you know, some of my men are already here." He then started to walk down the dock to where he saw his men.

The others followed him and were welcomed to the sight of three marines harassing two pirates. The marines were wearing standard low-ranking uniforms. The two pirates were twins. One of them wore a light-grey shirt, black jacket, jeans, and boots. He also had shoulder-length black hair and eyes. The second pirate wore the same thing, but with the color scheme reversed; black shirt, light-grey jacket, jeans, and boots. He had shoulder-length grey hair and eyes. On the back of both of their jackets was, most likely, their crew's Jolly Roger; a skull with a blue mask, which seemed awfully familiar, and two pistols as the crossbones. Even though the two twin pirates were being barraged by insults from the marines, they kept cool and calm.

"You marines must be new to the island, otherwise, you three wouldn't be here taking shots at us 'lowly' pirates." exclaimed the black haired pirate in a sly tone.

"The government on this island must be soft in the head if they're letting criminals like you walk free on these streets." stated one of the marines.

"We're just following the island's rules, we don't want to cause any trouble." proclaimed the grey haired pirate, trying to cool down the situation.

"Like we'll take the word of pirates like you two. One slip up and we'll take you down," the second marine arrogantly threatened, "And if Oceana's government doesn't like that then they'll go down as well."

"Hey! Don't even joke about that!" exclaimed the now serious black haired pirate, "Keep spouting out stuff like that and the Aobuke will have dealt with you before you could even blink."

"If they did then they would bring the anger of the World Government to this island for assaulting their marines." spoke the third marine, "I don't know why this island still exists, it should be part of the World Government. If not, then a Buster Call should take care of this treasonous island."

"I swear keep talking and we'll take pleasure in caving in your faces!" hissed the black haired pirate, his anger building with every word the marines spoke.

"Hmph! I think we've wasted enough time with these pirates." Stated the first marine, gesturing the other two that it was time to leave, "Let's head back to the embassy, I feeling dirty from being near these criminals." And with that, the marines left the two pirate twins, one very furious and the other relieved that they left. Their attention was then drawn to a voice that called out.

"Well, I see that you two are doing well here."

Turning their heads, the two pirates saw a familiar face.

"Commodore/Captain!" each of them called.

Drake just chuckled and waved at the two as he stopped in front of them. X was next to drake as the commodore started to speak with the twin pirates. Behind them, Smoker, Tashigi, Coby, and Helemppo stared in confusion. How did these pirates know Commodore Winters?

"Hehe… So, you finally made it here. I'm impressed, thought it would be another day before you'd get here." said the black haired pirate.

"Well, we were able to find some transport here very quickly. I'm just sorry we missed our own ship, then again, me and X were helping out an old lady carrying her groceries." Drake 'truthfully' explained.

"Right…" said the grey haired pirate before turning to X, "He looked at a clock and got confused, didn't he?"

"Yep." responded the masked pirate, resulting in depressing Drake.

Judging by the conversation and what Drake said before, it didn't take long for the watching marines to see who these pirates were. The commodore and the three pirates turned around when Tashigi spoke up.

"Umm, excuse commodore." Tashigi shyly started, "But when you said that you needed to meet up with your crew, we thought you were talking about a marine crew not a pirate crew." the four marines were now getting wary of the commodore.

"Well technically, I'm a marine," said the grey haired pirate, or should I now say marine, who then pointed to his twin, "While my brother here is a pirate."

Okay, now the marines were confused. Drake saw their confusion and decided to explain.

"I think some introductions are in order." He said before gesturing to the two new faces, "This is Ensign Gin and his brother Kuroi." Gin saluted to the other marines while Kuroi just waved, "As for my crew, they're 'unique' among the marines in New World."

"What do you mean by unique?" asked a wary Smoker.

"Like I said before; it takes a thief to catch a thief. My crew is comprised of my best hand-picked marines and pirates I was able to persuade to work alongside me." Drake explained before turning to the twins. They got the message and turned around, showing the Jolly Rogers on their jackets, "That is the Jolly Roger of the Marine Pirates, my own crew of strong marines and pirates." looking closely at the Jolly Roger, the marines realized that the mask covering the skull's eye sockets was actually the marine symbol that graced the marine's flag

Now the marines were thrown for a loop. This marine had basically admitted that he was the captain of a pirate crew, granted there are marines in the crew as well. Something like that couldn't be allowed in the marines. Coby spoke what was on their minds.

"B-but, is that even allowed? I doubt that this would've been approved, n-no offence sir." the young marine nervously wondered. Drake just chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, the fleet admiral himself approved of this." he proclaimed. Naturally, Smoker and his colleagues were very shocked at this.

"What! The fleet admiral approves of this?" yelled a shocked Helemppo.

"Yep! Came to see me himself to give his decision." Drake said, further shocking the marines.

"Y-you met with the fleet admiral Sakazuki!" exclaimed Coby.

They were right to be surprised. It was only last year that a new fleet admiral was chosen to replace Sengoku. The one Sengoku chose to take his place was Admiral 'Aokiji' Kuzan. But, Admiral 'Akainu' Sakazuki thought he was more qualified to become Fleet Admiral. This eventually led to a dual between the two on a deserted island. Sakazuki ended up the winner and became the new Fleet Admiral while Kuzan resigned from the marines. To think that this Commodore got Sakazuki to approve of his 'unique' team was baffling. Said marine saw their expressions of shock, except Smoker, who only widened his eyes slightly at what he learned, and laughed.

"Actually no. It was Fleet Admiral Sengoku that approved of my idea while he was still Fleet Admiral," Drake then turned two Gin and Kuroi, "So, where's everybody else?"

"They're all killing sometime in the city, we decided to meet up at the tavern near hear when everyone's finished." answered Gin.

"Well, I guess we have time to spare. If you don't mind though, can you help these marines stock up on supplies?" Drake asked, gesturing to Smoker and his marines.

Looking behind their captain, the twins gazed at the marines behind him; Smoker had a stern expression on his face while Tashigi, Coby, and Helemppo had sheepish looks on their faces. Gin didn't seem to mind, Kuroi, however, was still wary of marines after the 'encounter' they just had.

"I guess we can help. what do you say, bro?" Gin asked his brother.

"As long as they're not like the rest of these new marines on the island then we'll get along just fine." answered Kuroi, a bit of warning in his voice.

"Good, then if you don't mind, I have some stuff to do, so I'll meet you at the tavern later." Drake said as he turned to X, "Vice admiral, you're in charge."

"Yes sir!" X proclaimed, giving a salute. And with that, Drake turned around and walked away. X gestured for the twins to lead the way and for the marines to follow.

"Um, excuse me, but why did the commodore call you vice admiral?" asked Coby as he followed X.

"It's a habit he has. Whenever he comes across a strong pirate he labels them with a marine rank based on their strength." X explained, "Apparently, I'm as strong as a vice admiral and Kuroi is as strong as an ensign, which means he's as strong as his brother."

"Hey! I'm way stronger than this goody-two shoe!" Kuroi exclaimed, having heard what was said about him.

"Really? Then how come you lost the last two times we spared?" Gin asked in an amused tone. Kuroi just fumed humorously and turned away, mumbling things like 'the sun was in my eye' and 'I just woke up from a nap'. Gin just laughed and dropped the issue. The marines behind them watched the exchange in confusion. Is this how the marines and pirates in Drake's crew acted?

* * *

><p>The Aqua Oasis<p>

This was the name of the large tavern located in the southern part of the island. Right now, it was full of bustling patrons. Pirates and marines new to the island each kept to one side of the tavern, looking to avoid the other. Pirates and marines who've been on the island for a while now were sitting in tables in the center of the tavern, the animosity between the two sides faded as each side swapped tales with each other.

It is here that we find the Strawhat crew. Except for Luffy and Usopp, the whole crew was there including Mikal and their new friend Miles. After being shown around the southern part of the city, some of the crew went off on their own or in pairs. After having their fill of the sights, they met up at the Aqua Oasis, even Zoro found his way there, saying that he didn't need directions to find a tavern, now they're waiting for their captain and sniper. Some of them looked around the tavern. It was still a bit hard to swallow to see some pirates and marines interacting with each other without trying to kill each other. It just strengthens the reputation that New World has some unexpected surprises. The Strawhats relaxed as the patrons around drank and swap stories and music played around them.

"So Mikal, you said you were an explorer." Robin said, striking up a conversation with their new friend.

"Really? then that means you've seen a lot of exotic locations." declared Miles.

"Yep! Nothing beats the feeling of searching and finding exotic places and items on land or under water." Mikal proudly exclaimed.

"It must be a real pleasure seeing new and amazing sights. I'm getting goose bumps just thinking about, but I'm a skeleton so I don't have skin, Yohohoho Skull Joke!" laughed Brook.

"Well, being able to go both on land and under the sea helps a lot. Sometimes, people who've heard of me ask me to take them on a kind of safari to a place they think exists. I usually find what I'm looking for, despite what I'm looking for being supposedly pure myth."

"Really? Like where?" asked Chopper, his excitement at hearing about Mikal's explorations clear on his face.

"Well, there was this one time where I was asked to find a place that was, supposedly, home to a rare breed of blue bears. Needless to say, nobody thought that place was myth after I found." a proud smirk appeared on the explorer's face as he went on to tell of his explorations to his new friends.

The crew listened intently to Mikal's stories. As he telling a tale about finding a city that, supposedly, sank into the ocean a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey! We're back!"

They didn't have to turn around to see who it was. Sure enough, Luffy and Usopp entered the tavern and were making their way to the table their crewmates were at. The others saw that Luffy had something behind his back. Sanji spoke up when Usopp sat down.

"So, what did you two do?" asked the cook.

"We looked around a bit. They have all sorts of things on this island! It was hard to pick just one shop just to look at what they had." the sniper explained.

As Usopp was telling about all the things he's seen in the city, Luffy made his way over to one of his crewmates.

"Hey Nami!"

The navigator looked to her captain, who still had his hands behind his back.

"What is it, Luffy?" she asked.

"Shishishi… I got you something in the city!" said the grinning captain.

This got the crew's attention. Zoro and Robin showed surprise at the captain's action before smirks appeared on their faces. Chopper and Brook were interested in what Luffy had behind his back. Franky put one of his large hands on Sanji's shoulder, keeping said cook from going over and beating the captain to a pulp, thinking Luffy was trying something with Nami. Usopp just smiled knowing what Luffy was doing. Nami just had a surprised look and small blush on her face.

"R-really?" she asked.

"Yep!" Luffy said before bringing his hands from behind his back, "Surprise!"

The crew, Mikal, and Miles just stared at what was in Luffy's hand in wonder and confusion. In his hand was what appeared to be a small animal. It was white with a small body and a round head that was a bit bigger than its body. It had beady black eyes and what appeared to be a gold, drill-like nose, though it looked more like a carrot. It was shivering, despite having a small smile on its face.

"Puu puun." was all the small creature said.

The crew just stared at the strange creature. Their gaze was broken by Nami's reaction.

"SO CUTE!"

In an instant, the small animal went from Luffy's hands to Nami's arms. The navigator hugged the small animal to her chest while the animal didn't seem to react at all. Zoro, Robin, Franky, and Miles stared at the creature in wonder, while Chopper, Brook, and Mikal stared in amazement. Sanji was jealous of the small animal for being in Nami's arms. Luffy and Usopp just laughed, Usopp laughed at the others' expressions and Luffy happily laughed seeing that Nami liked his gift.

"Aw, he's so cute! Where'd you find him?" asked Nami, still hugging the animal.

"When Usopp and I were exploring the city he just walked right in front of us from an alley." Luffy started to explain, "We looked for where he came from, but we didn't find anything. So we decided to keep it"

"So, he doesn't belong to anyone?" Nami asked, Luffy shaking his head in response, "I see. B-but, why'd you give him to me?" she asked, her blush coming back.

"W-well, I just thought you might like him." Luffy said, sheepishly scratching his head and a small blush on his face. Some of the crew saw this and smirked slyly, while Sanji was just moping and saying stuff like 'stupid Luffy' and 'why didn't I think of that?'. Zoro then asked what was on everyone's mind.

"So… what is it?"

Everyone seemed to be curious about what the animal was. The only ones who weren't were Luffy and, surprisingly, Nami.

"Well, isn't obvious?" Nami asked, holding out the animal so the others could get a better look, "It's a dog!"

"Yep!" agreed Luffy.

….

….

….

_"A DOG?"_

Now what in the world would make someone think that that creature was a dog, it doesn't look anything like a dog. They could understand that Luffy thinks it's a dog, but Nami?

"Uh… are sure about that?" asked Miles.

"Well… what else could he be?" countered Nami.

Everyone just looked at the small, apparently, dog, who just kept shivering and smiling in Nami's arms. Sanji then turned to Chopper.

"Hey Chopper, can you talk to him and see what he is?" he asked the reindeer.

Chopper nodded his head and over to where Nami was sitting.

"Um… excuse me, but what kind of animal are you?" he asked the small animal.

"Puu puu puun," started the animal, "Pupuun puun pu."

Chopper just nodded his head at every word he heard, occasionally saying stuff like 'oh, I see' or 'you don't say'. Everyone paid close attention to the conversation. Moments later, the small animal stopped speaking.

"So… what is he?" asked Robin.

Chopper had his eyes closed, arms crossed, and a stern expression. The tension was high.

….

….

….

"I can't understand a word he says." Chopper truthfully admitted.

….

….

….

_"EHHHHHH?"_

"What do you mean you can't understand him?" exclaimed a surprised Franky, "I thought you can talk with any animal!"

"I-I can! It just that the words you're hearing are all he can say!" claimed Chopper, clearly ashamed at his inability to converse with the animal.

Everyone just stared at the animal, who just kept shivering and smiling. I guess they have to label him as a dog.

"Huh… I guess we'll have to call it a dog then." said Zoro, before turning to Luffy, "So what's his name?"

"Well… I thought I'd let Nami name him since I got him for her." Luffy sheepishly said, his blush coming back.

Said navigator just smiled warmly at her captain, "Aw, Luffy! That's so sweet!" she declared and then turned down to the, now labeled, dog in her arms, "Now, what to call you."

Nami racked her brain for name she could give her new dog.

_'Rover? Nah. Spot? No, he doesn't even have any spots.'_ she thought hard before something came to her, _'wait! That's it!'_

The orange haired woman held out the dog and smiled at it.

"I'll call you Plue."

"Puu puun."

Now what kind of name is Plue? Instead of trying to drag on the situation, the crew decided to let it go and just enjoy themselves in the tavern. The crew drank as they listened to stories from Mikal and some marine tales from Miles. The music in the tavern must've been good, because soon Plue was on top of the table doing a little dance. The Strawhats were amused at the show Plue was putting on. Some of the patrons spotted the dancing dog and looked on in amusement at the talented Plue. The Strawhats were so wrapped up in clapping at Plue that they didn't who just came through the tavern's entrance.

* * *

><p>After buying all the necessary provisions for the ship Smoker, his marines, and their escorts were now making their way to the nearby tavern to wait for Drake and unwind a bit. After entering the Aqua Oasis Tavern, the marine group laid their gaze on a crowd of marines and pirates. They seem to be watching something entertaining if their cheers were anything to go by. But their curiosity turned to shock when they saw who was sitting at the crowded table.<p>

"The Strawhats!"

Some members of said crew heard the yell over the cheering patrons. Turning around, they were shocked to see a familiar, yet very unwelcomed, face.

"Smoker!"

Nami, Usopp, Chopper, and Robin were shocked at seeing the vice-admiral. The rest of the crew didn't hear them over the patrons cheering at the dancing Plue. Not wanting a fight to break out, the four pirates made their way over to the marine and his companions. The atmosphere turned tense as the two sides stared at each other.

"So, you and Strawhat are here. If it weren't for the island's laws I'd arrest all of you right here and now." Smoker declared.

"W-well you can't!" stuttered Nami, even after training for two years Smoker still scared her a bit, "We don't want any trouble, so just leave us alone for now."

Before Smoker could say anything else, Coby came before him, hoping to avoid any trouble.

"Uh, Smoker sir! I hope I'm not going out of line, but we don't want cause any incident that will get us in trouble with Oceana's government." he said, hoping to stop his superior from doing something foolish.

Smoker just stared at the master chief petty officer before grunting and then turning to the Strawhat pirates in front of him. Before he could speak another voice cut him off.

"You should listen to the boy, Smokes. You can go and arrest these guys once you're both of the island, but until then, just give them a wide berth and enjoy yourself."

Turning to where the voice came from, the group gazed upon Commodore Drake as he entered the tavern. He stopped next to Smoker and looked towards the present Strawhat Pirates.

"So, you four are a part of the Strawhat Pirates. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to meeting you." he stated.

Before they could respond to the new marine, someone called out.

"Hey, commodore, X!"

A moment later, Miles stopped before the group. Drake and the rest of his men, except X, smiled at seeing a familiar face.

"Captain Miles! I hope you handled everything while I was gone." Drake stated.

The Strawhats looked in confusion as Miles spoke with Drake.

"Wait! You know this guy, Miles?" asked Usopp.

"Yeah, he's my boss. And those three are my crewmates." he said, gesturing towards Drake, X, Gin, and Kuroi.

"So, I see that you made friends with the Strawhats." said Drake.

"Well, they are an interesting bunch to hang out with." Miles replied.

While this was going on, Smoker's marines were trying to understand what just happened.

"Wait! Friends with the Strawhats? But their pirates!" Tashigi exclaimed, getting a 'Hey!' from the Strawhats and Kuroi, "Besides, their captain is one of the world's most dangerous criminals!"

Miles just chuckled at the remark and pointed his thumb behind him, "Does that look dangerous to you?"

Everyone looked to where the marine captain pointed to. They were welcomed to the sight of Luffy standing on the table and dancing along with Plue, drawing laughs from the observing patrons. The Strawhats, Drake and his men, and Coby and Helemppo just chuckled at the strawhat wearing captain's antics while Smoker and Tashigi just stared blankly at Luffy. It's hard to believe this idiot was one of the world's most dangerous criminals.

"So like I said, just enjoy your time here and when you leave the island then you can blow each other up." advised Drake.

Smoker and Tashigi exchanged looks before sighing.

"Fine. We'll keep to ourselves if that'll make yo- huh?" Smoker started before looking up and noticing that the other commodore was gone, "What the-? Where'd he go?

"Uh… try over there." said Kuroi, in what sounded like a bland tone, and pointed behind the Strawhats. Everyone turned around only to recoil in disbelief. They beheld the sight of Drake joining Luffy and Plue in their little, and somewhat embarrassing, dance, causing the patrons in the bar to laugh and cheer louder than ever. While Drake's men acted like something like this was normal for their captain, the Strawhats and marines stared in disbelief at the dancing trio. All Smoker saw was Drake further cementing his opinion of the man; the man was an idiot. While this was going on, nobody noticed X's hard gaze on Luffy, though it would be hard to tell with that mask on.

_'Huh... it's been a while, Luffy'_ was X's thought.

This was going to be an interesting experience.

* * *

><p><strong>And thus, I have completed the second chapter. I hope you liked this chapter and the characters I made. I also hope you liked me adding Plue to the story, although he isn't one of the six new members for the Strawhats. I also hope you like my idea of the Marine Pirates. As for the arguments each crew overheard, the marines arguing with the twins were just generic marines, but I'm sure you figured out who the antagonists of this story arc are; Tekken and his boss: Nitrous. And just how does X know Luffy, remember: I said that X wasn't actually an OC, what his connection to Luffy will be explained later in the story. And if you're looking for any pairings, I'm doing two, with the first one obviously being LuffyxNami. I hope I'm doing a good job with this story. Also, I'm going to start working on the first chapter of Call to Battle: Bleach. Read and review please. Mastergamer out.<strong>


	3. Strawhat Recruits

**Hey there. So I thought I should give off some information about the new crewmates I'm going to add in the stories, which has been raised to 12, hope you can wrap your head around it. I'm not going to say anything specific, but I am going to have some SBS questions like in the manga, as well as some of my own. So here it is, enjoy.**

* * *

><p><em>Strawhat Recruits<em>

Name: Mikal

Age: 21

Profession on the crew: Helmsman

Animal: Great White Shark

Color: Gray

Nationality: Australian

Warrior: Gladiator

Ability: Same-Same no Mi, Model: Great White **(Shark-Shark Fruit, Model: Great White)**

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 21

Profession on the crew: ? **_(Hint: The name of the profession is the combination of a color and name.)_**

Animal: Eagle

Color: Scarlet and Teal

Nationality: Scottish

Warrior: Gladiator

Abilities: ?-? no Mi **_(Hint: What do humans, animal, plants, and Clouds have in common?)_**, Weapons Training

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 23

Profession on the crew: Second Swordsman

Animal: Common Snipe

Color: Navy

Nationality: Japanese

Warrior: Samurai

Abilities: Swordsmanship, ?

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 31

Profession: ? **_(Hint: it's an ability that appeared in the second Romance Dawn prototype pilot.)_**

Animal: White Tiger

Color: Dark Purple

Nationality: British

Warrior: ? **_(same as the profession)_**, Knight

Ability: ? _**(Figure out the profession)**_

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 37

Profession: ? **_(this profession is very common in another anime)_**, Information Gatherer

Animal: Snake

Color: Dark Gray

Nationality: Japanese

Warrior: ? **_(Figure out the profession)_**

Abilities: Stealth, Information Gathering, ? **_(Figure out the profession)_**

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Animal: Wolf

Color: Silver

Nationality: American

Warrior: Beast

Abilities: Enhanced Speed and Strength

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 27

Profession: Tactician, Co-Captain

Animal: Wildcat

Color: Crimson

Nationality: Swedish

Warrior: Knight

Abilities: ?-? no Mi _**(relates to warrior category)**_, Super Strength, High Intelligence

* * *

><p>Name: ? <strong><em>(Is a character from a popular video game. Hint: the son of the main character of a certain western game)<em>**

Age: 19

Profession: Second Sniper

Animal: Coyote

Color: Brown

Nationality: American

Warrior: ? **_(figure out the character)_**

Abilities: ?-? no Mi **_(Hint:_ _"Think"__ really hard on this)_**

* * *

><p>Name: ?<p>

Age: 119

Profession: Second Information Gatherer

Animal: Lizard

Color: Dark Green

Nationality: Russian

Warrior: Beast

Ability: ?-? no Mi **_(Hint: Ropes, Restraints, Friendship)_**

* * *

><p>Name: ? <strong><em>(Another character from a video game. Hint: Is part of a monster race)<em>**

Profession: General

Animal: Scorpion

Color: Sickly Yellow

Warrior: Revenant

Abilities: Swordsmanship, Super Strength, ?, ?

* * *

><p>Name: ? <strong><em>(A very well known character from another anime)<em>**

Age: 45

Profession: Second General

Animal: Cougar

Color: White

Nationality: American

Warrior: Gladiator

Abilities: ?-? no Mi **_(resembles his ability from the other anime)_**

* * *

><p>Name: Jinbe<p>

Age: 46

Profession: Third General

Animal: Whale Shark

Color: Aqua

Nationality: Japanese

Warrior: Gladiator

Abilities: Fishman Karate, high intelligence, communicate with marine life

* * *

><p><em>SBS for original crew members<em>

Name: Luffy

Color: Red

Animal: Monkey

Nationality: Brazilian

Warrior: Pirate

* * *

><p>Name: Zoro<p>

Color: Green

Animal: Tiger Shark/Tiger

Nationality: Japanese

Warrior: Samurai

* * *

><p>Name: Nami<p>

Color: Orange

Animal: Cat

Nationality: Swedish

Warrior: Pirate

* * *

><p>Name: Usopp<p>

Color: Yellow

Animal: Armadillo/Chameleon

Nationality: African

Warrior: Cowboy

* * *

><p>Name: Sanji<p>

Color: Blue

Animal: Duck/Goat

Nationality: French

Warrior: Knight

* * *

><p>Name: Chopper<p>

Color: Pink

Animal: Reindeer/Tanuki

Nationality: Canadian

Warrior: Beast

* * *

><p>Name: Robin<p>

Color: Purple

Animal: Crane/Hawk

Nationality: Russian

Warrior: Ninja

* * *

><p>Name: Franky<p>

Color: Light Blue

Animal: Bull/Rhino

Nationality: American

Warrior: Viking

* * *

><p>Name: Brook<p>

Color: Black and White

Animal: Horse/Giraffe

Nationality: Austrian

Warrior: Viking, Samurai

* * *

><p><strong>And there it is. Hope you guys think hard on the hints. As for adding Jinbe, how can I not after the recent manga chapters, but he won't appear right away. As for why some of the Strawhats have two animals, check the cover page of chapter 651 in the manga. Also, the crew member after Mikal will appear in the next chapter, so I'm going to reveal their full info at the end of the chapter. Enjoy the hints. Mastergamer out.<strong>


	4. The Red Haired Blacksmith!

**Hey there, Mastergamer here. I now present you with the third chapter of One Piece: Shippuden. This arc's antagonist will make an appearance, as well as another Strawhat recruit. Also, you'll see the rest of the Marine Pirates and their talents. I also hope you're taking a look at my Dragon Age/Fairy Tail story. Now, sit back and enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. I do own the OC's and storylines.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 3: The Enemy Makes Their Move! The Red-Haired Blacksmith!<em>

A lot of thoughts were going through Tashigi's mind as she walked through the noisy tavern. The Strawhat Pirates were currently in the tavern with her unit and they were currently sharing drinks with another marine unit. Not only that, some of the other pirates and marines were interacting with each other without any hostility; she guesses that was the result of staying on a sort of "neutral' island. It was a lot to take in; dangerous pirates were in the same building as her and she can't arrest them because of the law of the island.

Tashigi sighed as she reached a table where Commodore Drake Winters was sitting by himself. The knowledge of this high ranking marine having pirates under his command was worrisome, she felt like she should talk to him about it.

"Umm… excuse me, Commodore?" she asked nervously, speaking to a officer of a higher rank than her was not easy for her.

Drake looked up to the girl when she spoke and shot her a grin.

"Well, Captain Tashigi. What can I do for you?" he asked cheerfully.

"W-well… I thought I should try and understand your decision to work with pirates." She spoke in a small and nervous tone, "I mean, isn't unsafe to work with pirates?"

"(chuckle) Don't worry about it. After everything we've been through I can trust the people I've recruited with my life." Drake explained with a chuckle.

"B-but a high-ranking officer like yourself should take precautions when dealing with pirates," the Ensign tried to reason, "It doesn't seem like a good idea, Commodore."

"Tashigi, first of all, I know what I'm doing; no one is going to get the better of me. And second," Drake said before looking around as if to see if anyone was listening before turning back to Tashigi, "Your unit is nowhere near here at the moment, so you can drop the act."

Tashigi's eyes widened a bit before a small smile crept on her face, nervousness gone from her face.

"You haven't changed one bit, Drake; you still take risks that can get you in a lot of trouble." she chuckled.

The marine just chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment at the words of his old friend.

"Hey, I can take care of myself; our time at the academy should be enough proof." Drake proclaimed.

Tashigi just chuckled before turning serious, "Seriously, are you sure you know what you're doing with these 'Marine Pirates' of yours?"

"Like I said, they're trustworthy pirates, they're also good friends." stated the Commodore.

"(Sigh) I hope you're right." she said before smiling, "It's good to see you again, it's been a while."

"Yeah, it has hasn't it?" Drake said. The last time he saw Tashigi was when he finished the marine academy and was assigned a unit. Looking at the younger girl, he saw that not much about her has changed, except for the fact that her hair was now long and in a braided ponytail over her shoulder. A smirk then appeared on his face, "So, how's your grandpa doing?"

"(scoff) Didn't you say you didn't care about, as you put it 'Some senile old man with a cane'" Tashigi exclaimed with her own smirk.

"Hey, the old man was my teacher; I'm obligated to ask if the old coot blew himself up yet."

"He hasn't, thankfully. But it's hard to tell through just a letter." the Ensign said in an amused tone, "He also wrote that if I ever ran into, and I quote, 'A certain ungrateful student that will always be a novice', to clock him in the head for a stupid stunt that he most likely already pulled." She said, chuckling at Drake's annoyed expression and his muttering something about 'stupid old geezers'.

Drake then cooled down and turned to Tashigi, "So… what are your thoughts on the Strawhats."

Tashigi's eyes widened before becoming stern.

"The Strawhats are wanted criminals. They're nothing but foul pirates and there captain is a dangerous criminal!" she stated with conviction.

"Dangerous criminal, huh?" spoke Drake before turning his head to where the Strawhats were with Tashigi following his gaze. Luffy has once again started dancing with Plue on the table, with Usopp and Chopper joining. He kept dancing until he slipped and fell head first on the floor, drawing laughs from the rest of the crew and some of the patrons. Drake and Tashigi both had dubious looks on their faces after seeing that.

"Yeah, that certainly is the face of a dangerous criminal." Drake spoke with sarcasm.

"Ugh! Okay, so they're not like other pirates, but they're still wanted criminals, especially after what happened at Enies Lobby, the Sabaody Archipelago, and Marineford two years ago." Tashigi stated firmly.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that; they caused a Buster Call to level Enies Lobby, Strawhat punched a world noble at Sabaody, and then he participated in the War of the Best at Marineford. Impressive accomplishments, right?"

"How can you say that?" shrieked Tashigi.

"While I agree that what they did were serious crimes, from a certain point of view, I can understand their actions." explained Drake calmly.

"What do you mean?" asked a confused Tashigi.

"I'll tell you later, for now we just relax while we're on the island." Drake spoke while picking up a pint of rum. Tashigi just sighed at Drake's laid back attitude. She then turned her gaze on another table were X was currently sitting.

"So, X, huh?" she spoke, "It's him isn't it."

"Yep, that's the little kid we met during the academy," Drake explained fondly, "If it weren't for the fact that we're friends he wouldn't be caught dead working with a marine."

Looking back at X, Tashigi thought about the first time she met him years ago, when they found him as a kid, injured and drifting in the sea. It looks like he really did become a pirate, despite her protests at the time. Even wearing a mask she knew it was him.

She then turned her gaze over to the Strawhats; she spotted a particular green-haired swordsman. Zoro was just drinking rum and insulting Sanji whenever the cook spotted a pretty waitress, this of course caused another fight to erupt between the two. Tashigi just shook her head at the situation; if she were to challenge Zoro to a duel she'll violate Oceana's law and get into real trouble. It looks like she'll have to wait until they're off the island to challenge Zoro. Letting out a sigh, she went to the table where her unit were sitting at and tried to think of a way to pass the time.

* * *

><p>It was night time at the base of the Nitro Pirates. These pirates are based in Oceana for the easy access to the island's kolto. That and as long as they stayed on the island the marines can't touch them for any crimes they have a hand in anywhere else.<p>

Walking down one of the base's halls was Tekken, and he was in a bad mood. After his encounter with those marines he was completely livid. Besides his bad mood, he was on his way to a meeting with his captain, Nitrous.

After entering his captain's meeting room, Tekken laid eyes on the other members of the crew that were also called for.

Not counting Tekken, there were four people in the room. The first was a tall and thin black-haired man. He was garbed in a karate training gi and had his hands and feet wrapped in bandages. He had a scowl on his face as he was getting impatient waiting for the meeting to start. This was the Nitro Pirates' hand-to-hand specialist, Blain.

The second person was a white-haired man garbed in black pants, boots, and a sleeveless shirt whose collar covered the bottom half of his mouth. The man also wore long and sharp metal claws on his hands. Since most of his face was covered it was hard to tell what he was feeling at the moment. This was the crew's best assassin, Shade.

The last person was a bald man garbed in dark-blue samurai armor. He had a kitana strapped to his back along with a naginata **(Japanese spear)**. His face bore no expression as Tekken stopped before the three men. This was the crew's strongest swordsman, Server.

"So, how long until the boss gets here?" Tekken asked with impatience in his voice.

"Right about now."

The four men turned around to see two figures enter the room. The first figure was a swordfish fishman. He was big and very intimidating. This man was the first-mate of the Nitro Pirates, "The Harpoon" Rickshaw.

The second man was average height and had short black hair. He wore two belts crossing over his chest and a black vest. He wore white pants and boots. The one thing that stood out about him was what appeared to be raw spots all over his body; it looked like parts of his skin came off and was healing rather slowly, leaving red splotches on his body. This man was the captain of the Nitro Pirates, Nitrous.

"I'm glad all of you were able to make it." spoke Nitrous in a calm voice, "The time has come for the first stage of our plan to start."

"Finally, I thought I'd go mad if I have to spend one more day letting these marines and weak pirates walk alive." announced Shade, his voice full of glee at the thought of killing people.

"Yeah, soon Oceana is going to be under our rule." declared Blain.

"This might've gotten hard." announced Tekken. The rest of his crewmates looked at him with looks saying to explain himself.

"I think you might be interested to know that the Strawhat Pirates just arrived on the island," Tekken explained, "The question now is not if we'll face them but how do we take them out?"

"Tch! So what if those guys are here, we can take them on." declared an excited Shade.

"Calm down, Shade." spoke Nitrous, "None the less, the Strawhats' presence here changes nothing, but, I think we should show them what we can do." The captain turned to Tekken and Server. "Tomorrow you two will pay them a visit and show them that they aren't the only pirates that are to be feared. And don't worry about the Aobuke, you should have no problems."

Server bowed in compliance while Tekken just grunted. The six pirates then left the room to prepare for their next move.

Oceana is about to become a warzone.

* * *

><p>The next day came as the Strawhats returned to the Aqua Oasis for some R&amp;R. Zoro, Robin, and Mikal just sat at their table enjoying their drinks. Sanji was busy flirting with the tavern's waitresses, as well as kicking Zoro in the face for insulting him. Usopp, Chopper, Franky, and Brook were busy playing music and dancing, entertaining the surrounding patrons. Luffy and Nami were sitting at a table where they were watching Plue eat a lot of candy; Nami kept slapping Luffy's hand away when he tried to take Plue's candy. All in all, everyone was having a good time (except for Zoro and Sanji who got into another fight). And it looked like it was going to continu-<p>

"STRAWHAT!"

Said captain and his crew, as well as some of the patrons, turned to where the voice came from and saw that it was coming from outside. The Strawhats quickly went outside to see who shouted. They spotted two men standing in the middle of the street. The crew recognized the guy from yesterday who was arguing with Miles. The second one in samurai armor they didn't recognize.

"Huh, so you're Strawhat Luffy. I gotta say, I pictured someone taller." Tekken arrogantly commented as he stared at the strawhat-wearing pirate.

"Who are you?" asked Luffy.

"I'm one of the Nitro Pirates' top generals; I'm 'Shatter Fist' Tekken!"

"So?" the whole crew asked in bored tones, infuriating Tekken.

"What do you mean 'so'? I'm a very powerful pirate challenging you to a fight!" Tekken yelled as he clenched his gauntlet clad hands.

"Why would I fight you?" asked Luffy as he picked his nose.

"Because there's only room for one big time group of pirates on this island and that's the Nitro Pirates." Tekken then turned to the swordsman next to him, "Server, why don't you show them the power of our crew."

The swordsman, now known as Server, merely placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword. Zoro placed his hands on his own swords; if this guy was going to fight then he'll be the one to fight him.

Server merely looked the Strawhats with an expressionless look before he spoke in a quiet voice.

**_"Splicing Air Wave"_**

With speed that even Zoro almost couldn't follow, Server drew his sword and swung it in front of him. For a split second, the sword's blade disappeared and what looked to be blades of wind were produced and travelled quickly towards the Strawhats. Acting quickly, Zoro drew out two swords, Kitetsu III and Shunsui, and quickly unleashed his own attack.

**_"Nanajuni Pound Ho!"_ (72 Pound Cannon)**

Swinging his blades, Zoro sent two compressed blades of air towards Server's own air blades. When the two attacks met each other, the Strawhats were surprised to see Server's air wave completely shredded Zoro's pound cannon and continued its way towards the pirates.

The Strawhats quickly jumped out of the way as the air wave hit the tavern's entrance and completely shred it to pieces. The Strawhats picked themselves up and surveyed the damage.

"I don't believe it! Zoro's attack was overpowered, how'd that happen?" yelled out Usopp. Before anyone could answer, Tekken, fist raised, suddenly appeared behind Usopp, Robin, and Chopper. The Nitro pirate brought his gauntlet clad fist down only Sanji to block Tekken with a kick. The cook pushed Tekken away and got ready to fight.

Not far from them, Zoro and Server were facing one another. Zoro, now wielding his three swords, was subtly wondering how this guy was able to shatter his attack. The enemy swordsman didn't wait for Zoro to make the next move. Zoro quickly blocked the blade only for it to disappear. Not a moment later did he feel himself be cut from every direction all over his body. Zoro, thinking quickly, swiped his blades outward in an effort to stop the attacks. He was successful in stopping the attacks and saw what the cause of them were.

"So, that's how you're doing it." he observed.

Lying around him is what appeared to be Severs sword segmented into smaller blades and attached as a whip-like weapon. With a flick of his wrist Server returned his weapon back to its sword form. Seeing this, Zoro figured out how he was able to counter his last attack; with amazing speed, Server turned his sword into its whip form and rapidly sliced the area in front of him. With his speed Server made it seem like he unleashed an air blade attack. As for Zoro's attack being countered, the speed and the bladed segments of his whip were enough to completely cut through his pound cannon **(Server's attack style is based on a character from the anime Claymore who had a similar weapon)**. This was something new for Zoro, a swordsman that can perform long-range attacks, and seeing the distance Server was from the now destroyed tavern entrance, Server's sword whip could extend to great lengths. Looking at the swordsman clad in armor, Zoro prepared himself for this battle.

Back with Sanji, the cook was currently dodging the strong punches from Tekken. Tekken was son focused on the nimble cook that he didn't sense that coming from behind him was-

"Gum-Gum Pistol!"

Tekken was knocked off his feet as Luffy's fist made contact with the back of his head. While the Nitro pirate was seeing stars, Luffy made his way to Sanji. The two Strawhats looked on as Tekken regained his footing.

"Ugh! You're gonna pay for that you brat!" Tekken replied as he rubbed his head.

"Huh, we'll see about that!" stated Luffy. Next to him Sanji was lighting up a cigarette as he prepared to fight.

Tekken then flexed his finger and, surprisingly, his gauntlets started to glow red. Luffy and Sanji didn't have time to wonder what that glow was as Tekken quickly reached them and swung his fist. Reacting quickly, Luffy raised his hands to grab the punch, but…

"HOTTTT!"

Luffy quickly let go of Tekken's fist and started blowing on his hands. He didn't know what happened; the moment Luffy's hands touched Tekken's gauntlets searing heat could be felt and the next thing he knew his hands felt like they were on fire. Tekken just laughed as the Strawhat captain flailed his hands around. Tekken stopped laughing just in time to intercept a kick from Sanji. Given the nature of some of the cook's powerful attacks, extreme heat practically had no affect on him. Unfortunately, Tekken noticed this.

"So, you can withstand the heat of my gauntlets." Tekken observed.

"Of course, as a cook I've grown accustomed to working with the heat of a stove," Sanji calmly stated as he pushed his leg against Tekken's fist, "The heat from your little glove doesn't bother me."

"Oh yeah! How about this!" Tekken then flexed his fingers again. The moment he did a strong discharge of electricity left his gauntlet and hit Sanji with full force. The cook yelled in pain as he was sent flying from the strong shock.

"Sanji!" yelled Luffy as he caught Sanji from his flight. The lingering electricity didn't bother Luffy as he laid the stunned chef on the ground. He then turned to Tekken with an enraged look.

"You're gonna pay for that!" he yelled as he held out his arm. Adding a bit of haki into his arm hardened his hand and turned it black. Tekken just smirked at this as he flexed his fingers again, causing his left gauntlet to start vibrating really fast.

"Bring it on!"

Luffy threw his punch at Tekken and watched as his fist stretched towards him. Tekken threw his own punch as the haki-infused fist reached him. Both fists hit each other and the power behind them both released a small shockwave.

A small distance away were the rest of the Strawhat crew as they watched the two fights take place.

"These guys are no pushovers, especially the swordsman." commented Mikal, "I've heard of the Nitro Pirates and they are far from weak."

"You're right, but there's something wrong here." declared Nami as she watched Luffy battle Tekken, holding Plue tightly in her arms, "Isn't the island's law enforcement supposed to appear when there's a fight going on?"

"You're right, Oceana's Aobuke are supposed to sustain order on the island. A fight like this and the Aobuke aren't here, it's too suspicious." thought Robin.

"Suspicious or not these two are powerful; the guy in the samurai armor has a sword that can turn into a whip and can cancel out Zoro's attacks while the big guy's gauntlets seem to have special abilities that knocked Sanji out and is putting Luffy on the ropes." observed Chopper.

"Should we help?" asked Brook.

"It looks like they can keep up, but if things get intense then we'll help." suggested Usopp.

The others seemed to have agreed to this as they went back to watch the fights unfold.

Back with Zoro he was on his toes in his fight with Server. Zoro couldn't get close to Server due to the swordsman's whip sword keeping him from getting near and Zoro's pound cannons just got canceled out by the sword cutting them to pieces. Zoro was starting to get annoyed with this fight.

_'This guy's strong. I can't believe I'm going to have to use that attack in fight like this.'_ thought Zoro.

Zoro crossed his arms across his chest. Server saw this and knew just from looking that Zoro was going to perform a strong attack. Well, if he was going to use strong techniques, then Server should too.

Server leveled his sword parallel to the ground at his waist and pulled back his arm. He crouched down a bit and held his other arm over his blade. Zoro saw this stance and knew he was going all out. This was going to be intense. With a powerful kick off the ground, Zoro launched himself at Server.

**_"Rengoku Oni Giri!"_ (Purgatory Demon Slash)**

Server quickly thrusted his sword at the incoming Zoro.

**_"Splicing Air Spear!"_**

Server's blade extended quickly towards the green haired swordsman in a straight motion, like a spear. The two attacks met with great force.

_CLANG!_

Zoro now stood behind Server, with his back to him. Server still stood crouched as his sword whip clattered on the ground, the hilt still in his hand. All was still until blood spurted from Server's chest. The nitro pirate held his free hand to the shallow X shaped scar now on his chest as he fell to his knee. Zoro turned around to look at Server, a smirk on his face.

"It looks like I win this round." Zoro said as he brought up his swords just in case his opponent still had some fight in him. Zoro then noticed a smirk on Server's face.

"What are you smirking at-"

_CRACK_

Horror didn't describe the feeling in Zoro as he witnessed cracks appear on all three of his swords. Kitetsu, Shunsui, even Ichimonji looked as if another hit would shatter them to pieces. In his stunned state he didn't notice Server move.

"You let your guard down."

Zoro didn't have time react as Server's sword whip circled around him before it wrapped around him. Zoro yelled in pain as the weapon's bladed segments dug into his flesh. Server smirked before he, with a strong display of strength, used his blade whip to swing Zoro into the air before slamming onto the ground, hard.

Zoro coughed up blood from the impact, hitting the ground also caused the blades wrapped around him to dig deeper into his body. Server walked towards Zoro. He started down at the fallen swordsman before, with a flick of the wrist, unwrapped his sword whip from Zoro and returned it to its sword form.

Zoro got onto his hands and feet with great difficulty. On the ground in front of him laid his swords. Kitetsu looked as if it had spider-web designs all over it. Zoro couldn't understand how a blade like Shunsui could be damaged like this. But what really had him shocked was Ichimonji; it looked like hundreds of slivers of metal barely holding together to make the shape of a sword. A lot of feelings went through Zoro as he stared at Ichimonji: Horror at the sword's current state, rage at the man who did it, and shame at himself for allowing the sword of his childhood friend to be all but destroyed. He was brought at of his thoughts as he noticed Server point his sword at him.

"Even with three powerful swords, you were still no match for my Hebi no o (Serpent's Tail)." declared Server as he lifted his blade high to finish off Zoro.

"Goodbye!"

**_"Splicing Sound Wave!"_**

Before Server could even move his sword, he jumped out of the way as what appeared to be a wave of shimmering air, which admitted a loud screeching sound, hit where he was just standing. Server landed a few feet away when he was attacked again. The swordsman raised Hebi no o to block a strike from another sword. Server quickly pushed the assailant away from him. Standing before him now, standing between him and Zoro, were two figures.

"And just who are you?"

Back with Luffy, the pirate captain was having a hard time dealing with Tekken. More than once did Tekken try to attack the unconscious Sanji while he was near and Luffy was not. That led to Luffy currently carrying Sanji over his shoulder, all the while avoiding attacks from Tekken. Luffy kept dodging punches of extreme heat, cold, and electricity. Luffy wasn't able to go all out on Tekken, partly because he was carrying Sanji and he was starting to get tired and partly from the different effects from Tekken's gauntlets. There was also another reason why Luffy isn't winning the fight: Luffy could tell that he still hasn't completely recovered from his injuries from fighting Hody Jones back on Fishman Island. He could feel his body scream in protest as he kept himself standing. Tekken noticed Luffy's current state grinned cruelly.

"It looks like you're on your last legs, Strawhat!" he declared, "I was only supposed to beat you senseless, but the boss might be pleased if I took you out now!" as soon as he finished the sentence, Tekken shot off towards Luffy.

Luffy body wouldn't let him move as Tekken reached him and raised both fists up.

"NOW DIE!" Tekken then brought down both his fists.

_CLANG!_

Tekken looked in shock as both his fists were suddenly stopped. Quickly leaping away, Tekken glared angrily at what stopped his attacks. Two figures now stood in front of Luffy.

"Who the hell are you!"

Back with the rest of the Strawhats, they shocked to see Luffy and Sanji being overpowered by Tekken and Zoro have his swords damaged by Server. Just as they were about to go and help their nakama, someone beat them to it. They looked in shock as standing between Luffy and Sanji and Tekken were Kuroi and Gin, both smirking at the fuming Nitro pirate. And not far from them, Miles and Tashigi stood in front of Zoro as they faced Server. The Strawhats were surprised at the marines' arrival before someone called out to them.

"Hey!"

They turned to see Coby and Helemppo run up to them before stopping to catch their breath.

"Coby? What are you guys doing here?" asked Nami.

"(pant) We were (pant) on our way over here when we heard that there was an attack here," panted Coby, "The others went ahead to see what was going on."

"It's a good thing they got here in time or else Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji would've been in trouble." Spoke Mikal before turning back to the fights, "Two members of the Nitro Pirates just attacked us, and there no pushovers in strength."

The rest just looked back towards the two stand-offs.

With Luffy, he was both surprised and relieved to see Kuroi and Gin. Kuroi turned his head towards Luffy.

"Hey, Strawhat, are you okay?" he asked. Luffy answered with a nod. Kuroi nodded as well before looking at the unconscious Sanji "Good. It looks like Black Leg is going to need some help. You take him to your doctor, me and my brother will handle this guy." he declared as he tuned to glare at Tekken.

"Hey Gin, how about we show this guy what we can do."

"I think that'll be fun, Kuroi." the marine answered his pirate brother's question.

The twins' bodies started to change. Kuroi's skin started to harden and change color while Gin's skin did the same. Kuroi's skin turned to a metallic silver while Gin's turned to a pitch black. The twins' hair clashed with the new color of their skin and their eyes were completely white.

"I ate the Kane-Kane no Mi, Model: Steel **(Metal-Metal Fruit, Model: Steel)**." spoke Kuroi as he flexed his, now, metal arm.

"And I ate the Kane-Kane no Mi, Model: Iron **(Metal-Metal Fruit, Model: Iron)**." spoke Gin as he did the same.

Tekken was surprised at the twins' powers, "So you two are metal men. (chuckle) This ought to be fun." he said as he grinned, excited at the idea of fighting these two.

"Huh! Bring it on!" declared Kuroi as both he and his brother got ready to face Tekken.

Back with Zoro, the swordsman looked in shock at the marines in front of him, particularly the blue-haired woman to his left. Said woman turned to look at Zoro before turning her gaze to the now ruined swords in front of him. A look of anger appeared on her face before she turned around to glare at Server.

"You, you're going to pay for damaging such priceless swords!" Tashigi said through gritted teeth.

Server looked like he didn't hear Tashigi's words as he turned to Miles.

"You, Marine, that was your attack from before. What was it?" the swordsman asked.

Miles merely smirked as he lifted his left arm. His arm then started to distort before changing into what appeared to be air that looked like it was vibrating. It also was admitting a rumbling sound that could be heard by everyone nearby.

"That was an ability I got from eating the Oto-Oto no Mi **(Sound-Sound Fruit)**. That makes me a sound man." answered Miles, transforming his other hand into vibrating air.

Server looked at the two marines before looking towards where Tekken was and saw the marines facing him.

_'One swordswoman and three logia-class devil fruit users. This will be tough.'_ Server thought as he looked down at his sword, _'The sound man can control vibrating air particles, which would be able to render Hebi no o's long range attacks useless. I have to be careful here.'_

Server then turned back to the two marines in front of him. Miles was ready to fight while Tashigi held her sword, Shigure, firmly in her hands. Server prepared himself before calling to Tekken.

"Tekken! These marines are going to be a challenge, don't let up for one second!"

"You think I'm stupid! There's no way I'm letting any marines get the better of me!" replied Tekken.

"Very well then," said Server as he turned to Miles and Tashigi, "Let's get started." he took one step and—

**_"Rikujōkōrō!"_ (Six-Staff Light Prison)**

From out of nowhere, six thin, wide beams of light slammed into Server's midsection. If that didn't surprise the swordsman, then suddenly realizing that he couldn't move his body did.

"What the hell!"

Server turned his gaze towards his comrade and saw that he was restrained by six beams of light as well. Turning his gaze, Server saw that everyone else was surprised at what happened. The only ones who weren't surprised were Miles, Kuroi, and Gin, the first two seem to have gained annoyed expression.

"Man, why'd he have to cut this short? I was ready for a fight!" declared Kuroi. A voice chose to answer.

"It's getting too dangerous, we'll have to end it now."

Everyone turned to see where the voice came from. Walking towards them was none other than marine commodore Drake Winters. He stopped in the middle of the road and turned to the two restrained nitro pirates.

"Well, you two sure caused a lot of trouble." he proclaimed.

"Just who the hell are you!" yelled the bound Tekken.

"I'm Commodore Drake Winters of the marines. It seems to me that your crew is up to no good."

A short distance from the marine, the ones that weren't fighting stared at the new arrival and then to the Nitro Pirates that were bound by light.

"Did Drake do that?" asked Usopp.

"Yes he did."

They were surprised to see X was standing right next to them and they didn't notice him before.

"When'd you get here?" asked Nami.

"We arrived just now. We heard what happened here and came as fast as we could. Vice-admiral Smoker went to the Aobuke headquarters to see why none are here now." answered the masked pirate.

Everyone accepted this answer. Coby then spoke up.

"Did Commodore Winters bind those two with a devil fruit ability?" asked the young marine.

"No, he's not a devil fruit user, he's more powerful than that." Stated X as he saw the confused looks on everybody's faces, "Drake is a mage."

That sure wasn't what they were expecting.

"Wait a minute! Did you say mage, as in a person who does magic?" asked Robin.

"Yes, if you don't believe me then see for yourselves." X said as he and the others turned to where Drake was. Said marine had a smile on his face as he held out his right arm.

"I think you two should answer some question I have for you. And to make sure you don't do anything," suddenly, what appeared to be a white-blue seal appeared in front of his hand, **_"Frost Prison."_**

Two similar seals appeared under Server and Tekken's feet. Moments later, ice started to appear from the seal and started to encase their feet. The two pirates felt cold as the ice traveled up their bodies. Everyone else, except for X, Mile, Tashigi, and the twins, looked in shock at what was happening.

"I guess we'll find out the reason for this little stunt soon." said Drake. The nitro pirates were frozen up to their necks. All seemed to go against their favor, until…

_Swoosh_

"What the hell!"

Drake, and everyone else, was shocked to see that Server and Tekken were no longer in front of them. Looking around, they found that the two pirates were nowhere to be found. They were then brought out of their search when they heard two thuds.

_Thud_

_Thud_

Looking back, they saw that Luffy and Zoro had succumbed to their injuries and passed out. Seeing this, Chopper quickly got to work, telling Franky to grab Zoro as he went over to check on Luffy and Sanji.

While the little reindeer looked over his crewmates, the others wondered about what just happened.

"Okay? How did those two just disappear like that?" asked Helemppo.

"I don't know, but I doubt it'll be the last we see of them, we'll need to be on our guard." Spoke Drake before turning to the Strawhats, "That goes double for you, seeing as you guys seemed to be targeted by the Nitro Pirates."

"B-but why would they go after us?" asked Nami as she held Plue close to her.

"I don't know, but whatever they got planned can't be good for the island." claimed Drake. They turned around when they heard Chopper walk over to them. The small doctor had a solemn look on his face.

"Well?" asked Usopp.

"Sanji's going to be okay, he's just unconscious so he should wake up soon. Zoro has a lot of injuries but none life threatening, so he should be okay. But Luffy…" Chopper paused before thinking about how to explain the next part, "It looks like Luffy still hasn't fully recovered from his fight with Hody back on Fishman Island. It looked like it was too soon to fight again and his body collapsed, he needs to rest for a while."

That news seems to hit the Strawhats hard; with Luffy out of commission for a while, it'll be hard to fight against the Nitro Pirates. Another thought came to them. Looking over to where Zoro once was, the Strawhats saw his damaged swords on the ground. Zoro, even if he recovered, wouldn't be able to fight with his swords in such condition. They needed to find a way to fix them.

"If we need to be on our guard, then we'll have to find a way to fix Zoro's swords. Without them, Zoro won't be able to fight when he recovers, and he needs to until Luffy gets better if guys like Tekken and Server come after us." summarized Robin.

"If you need to fix those swords then I got an idea." spoke up Miles.

"What is it?" asked Usopp.

"While on the island, I heard that there's a very skilled blacksmith that lives in the forest not far from here. They say that this blacksmith can make and repair any weapon with ease, it might be the best option to fix your friend's swords."

The Strawhats thought about this before realizing that this is their only option.

"I guess it's settled. Miles, you'll take some of the Strawhats to the blacksmith to fix Roronoa's swords while the rest of us stay here to look out for any of the Nitro Pirates." ordered Drake.

"Yes Sir!" saluted Miles before turning to the Strawhats, "This isn't that big of a job, so I think only two of you should come."

"I'll go, if it's about fixing weapons then I should come along." replied Usopp.

"I'll go too, searching for a blacksmith in the forest sounds like a good expedition." replied Mikal.

"Right then, let's go." said Miles as he and the others turned to leave.

"I'm coming too."

Turning around, they saw Tashigi walking towards them. What's more, she carried Zoro's swords, in their sheathes, in her hands.

"You want to come?" asked Miles.

"These three swords are Meito, Powerful and sacred swords. I can't just sit by while they're in such a state!" the marine captain said with vigor.

Miles just sighed before speaking, "Fine, you can come. Now if that's all, we need to go now."

And with that, Mile, Tashigi, Usopp, and Mikal went of to search for the blacksmith.

Drake watched them as they left before turning to the Strawhats.

"You guy's better get your crew mates back to your ship so that they can recover. You also need to be on your guard."

They nodded in agreement. After having Franky pick up Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji the Strawhats left for their ships so that their friends can heal.

Drake turned to Coby, Helemppo, and the twins.

"As for us, we'll be doing some investigating and find out what the Nitro Pirates are up to." he said, gaining salutes from the marines, "All right, let's move out.

* * *

><p>It took about three hours to find their way to the blacksmith's home, but they did it. Mile, Tashigi, Usopp, and Mikal arrived at a large cabin with an outside forge attached to it. This must be wear the blacksmith lives. The four stopped at the cabin's door and Usopp knocked on it. A few seconds pass and no answer. Usopp knocks again and ends with the same result.<p>

"You think he's not home?" asked the sniper.

Miles didn't answer as he reached for the doorknob. With a twist, the door opened.

"Strange, why was it unlocked?" wondered Miles.

More curious than cautious, the group entered the cabin to find it empty. That was sure strange.

"Hello! Anyone in here? We're looking for the blacksmith." yelled Usopp. He walked in front of the group towards the fireplace. He didn't get farther than three steps before…

_Whack!_

"AHHH!"

Something knocked his feet from under him and caused him to land on his back. He lifted his head only to come face-to-point with a very sharp spear. Shaking in fear, the sniper looked up at the person holding the spear.

He was surprised to see that it was a very attractive brown-eyed woman with long red hair. The only thing wrong with the beautiful woman was the glare and scowl on her face, both directed at the shivering Usopp. The red-haired woman then spoke in a threatening tone.

"You're looking for the blacksmith. Well you found her, so what do you want!"

Usopp was too frightened to say anything.

He is in the presence of the master blacksmith, Laguna.

_To Be Continued..._

* * *

><p><strong>And so ends chapter three. Sorry it took so long, I had to make a few changes to the previous chapters after reading the recent One Piece Chapters. As for the new OC Laguna, she looks exactly like Erza from Fairy Tail, with a personality to match, also watch for her skills in the next chapter. I also hope you like the abilities I gave to Drake and his crew. I also hope you caught on the small backstory between Drake, Tashigi, and X. Also, how would you readers feel if I introduced a small girl character that will follow Zoro everywhere, like Kenpachi and Yachiru from Bleach, your thoughts? Anyway, I'll now work on the next chapter of DBONFD. I hope you enjoy this story. Read and review. Mastergamer out.<strong>


	5. Strawhats vs Nitro!

**Hey people, Mastergamer here. Sorry for the long wait; blame new video games coming out and procrastination. I hope you'll like this chapter. Also, take a look at my new Rosario vampire story and 'Grimoire of Fables'. Also be on the lookout for my SAO and Toriko crossover coming out soon. Now, enjoy the story.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters. I do own the OC's and storylines.**

* * *

><p><em>Chapter 3: A Watery Battle! Strawhats Vs Nitro<em>

Usopp was doing everything in his power to keep his bladder from emptying into his pants as he stared at the spear that was a few inches from his face. His attention was drawn to the person holding the spear.

Standing above him was a very attractive brown-eyed woman with long red hair **(looks exactly like Erza Scarlet from Fairy Tail)**. She was wearing a short-sleeved, black, form fitting shirt with matching cargo pants, army boots, and armband on her left wrist. On her right arm was a silver metal spaulder and gauntlet. She also wore an open dark-red Jack of Plate **(a vest with small plates of iron sewn between the fabric, like a medieval bullet-proof vest)**. A silver, segmented tasset hung from her belt over her right hip and a matching metal greave covered her right leg. The most prominent features of her appearance were what she was carrying on her person.

She carried with her a multitude of weapons; a broadsword hung from her left hip and a hatchet on her right, two daggers sheathed in her left and right boots, a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back over a claymore and a pole-arm style stone hammer crossed over each other in an X, a metal cestus covered her left hand, and the spear in hand, pointed at Usopp, completed the image of a walking armory.

Her appearance and the glare on her face would send chills through even the toughest of men and send them running. Usopp was ready to play possum when Miles' voice spoke up.

"Whoa there, Miss! We come in peace." declared the marine as he, Tashigi, and Mikal entered the house, hands up to show that they weren't going to do anything.

The woman stared at Miles before letting out a sigh and removing her spear from the now grateful and weeping Usopp, who quickly ran towards the others, and placing it on her back, blade pointing up. The redhead then turned to Miles.

"I apologize, a lot of top quality weapons are housed here and I've had more than my fair share of crooks trying get their hands on them, I have to be on guard at all times." The redhead then gave her visitors a bow, "I am Laguna Liore, blacksmith of Oceana at your service."

"It's nice to meet you, Laguna. I'm Marine Captain Miles and I'm here to give you a job," Miles turned to Tashigi and gestured her to Laguna.

Tashigi walked up to the blacksmith and presented her with Zoro's swords.

"These swords have been severely damaged, we heard that you'll be able to fix them." Spoke a serious Tashigi as Laguna took the swords from her hands. The redhead careful took the swords out of their sheathes and surveyed the damaged. Her eyes flashed with recognition.

"Wado Ichimonji, Kitetsu III, and Shunsui; these are very rare and powerful swords and for them to end up in this state," Laguna paused before turning to the group, "How did this happen?"

"We were attacked by two guys from the Nitro Pirates; one of them was a swordsman with a weird sword and he injured my friend and almost destroyed his swords." explained Usopp.

A flash of pain passed through Laguna's face before facing the group.

"This swordsman, was the name of his sword Hebi no o?" she asked seriously.

"Uh, yeah, how'd you know?" asked Mikal.

Laguna had a forlorn expression on her face before turning her back to them.

"The swordsman's name is Server; my grandfather made that sword for Server on orders from Nitrous. The moment the sword passed from my grandfather's hands to Server's, Server cut him down."

"What! Why would he do that?!" Mikal asked, surprised, like the others, that Server would kill the man who made his sword. His question was answered by Miles.

"It's the way the Nitro Pirates do things: anytime they acquire the services of any outside talent, they kill the person after they've done their services, partly to cover up any involvement they had with each other and partly because Nitrous doesn't want anyone else to obtain the same advantages as he does." Miles said seriously with a frown on his face, "Server came to your grandfather for a sword and after he got it Server killed him to keep him from revealing any information your grandfather might've acquired and to make sure that he doesn't make a similar sword for anyone else."

The group couldn't see Laguna's face, but they could see her shoulders shaking, from sadness or anger they didn't know. Miles sighed before continuing.

"The Nitro Pirates are making their move, for what I don't know. But what I do know is that they will surely harm a lot of people very soon and we need every advantage we can get. The owner of those swords was injured, but he'll recover and he'll need those swords in prime condition to help us fight Nitrous and his goons. Can you repair them?"

Laguna's shoulders stopped shaking before she turned to the group, a look of determination on her face.

"I'll fix these swords and make sure that they'll be better than ever. All I ask for return is one thing." She closed her eyes for a moment before replying, "I wish to help you take down the Nitro Pirates. And if we run into him, I ask you to let me fight Server myself."

The group saw the determination the redhead showed and could understand her desire to help them.

"Alright, like I said, we need all the help we can get in facing Nitrous." replied Miles, a smirk on his face, "You can start by getting to work on those swords."

Laguna nodded before taking the swords out to her forge. She needed to get to work quickly for the upcoming battles.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere in the Thousand Sunny's infirmary was a grim one.<p>

A few minutes ago Zoro and Sanji woke up and were given the okay to leave the infirmary. But the two were in foul moods; Sanji was down about being beaten so easily and Zoro was almost dead to the world after witnessing his precious swords break, hearing that they were taken to get fixed didn't help much.

The rest of the crew were on edge since the attack by the Nitro Pirates and weren't really thrilled on waiting for the enemy to make a move. Out of all of them, Nami was feeling the worst.

The navigator was in the infirmary, sitting in a chair next to one of the beds with Plue in her arms. A sad and worried gaze from her eyes rested on the current occupant of the bed; Luffy was still out cold and his body was heavily bandaged.

Nami couldn't help being worried about Luffy; having to fight a tough opponent while his wounds from Fishman Island still haven't properly healed has really taken their toll on him. Seeing him like this tore at Nami's heart, she's just not used to seeing Luffy in a state of weakness nor will she ever get used to it; she had long since made peace with the fact that she was starting to see her goofy captain in a new light other than friend/captain. Despite what people would think, she's not ashamed of admitting to having feelings for Luffy, who she's pretty sure feels the same; it's just the time to tell him wasn't right yet.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a groan from the bed. Looking towards the bed, Nami was disappointed to see that Luffy was merely moaning in his sleep, no signs of waking up evident. Nami just sighed; it was both a good and bad thing, good in that Luffy is getting rest and bad in that Luffy won't be awake if the Nitro Pirates were to make their move.

"Pu Puu" uttered Plue as he looked up at Nami. Said navigator just tightened her grip on the dog(?) in her arms; there was nothing she could do now but wait.

"Luffy, get well soon." she whispered, hoping he'd hear it.

* * *

><p>Smoker made his way towards the local Aobuke HQ at the other side of the port. After hearing about the Nitro Pirates attack on the tavern, Smoker was curious as to why the island's police force didn't intervene; from what he heard, the Aobuke appear on the scene if someone even so much as thinks about stealing from a vendor or dine and dash, so them not appearing when pirates attacked was cause for concern and suspicion.<p>

Upon reaching the entrance of the HQ Smoker immediately knew that something was wrong. After entering the building through the entrance, which was unlocked, Smoker came across the sight the Aobuke, dead. Their blue uniforms were stained red from their own blood and the HQ was trashed. What appeared to be claw marks decorated the walls of the building the bodies of the Aobuke. It looks like someone assassinated the Aobuke and Smoker had a good idea who was responsible.

"Now we know why the Aobuke didn't show up."

Smoker didn't even turn around to talk to Drake, "Nitrous must be plotting something big to have killed all of the Aobuke on this side of the island and something tells me it's like this at the other HQ's on the island. Just what is that pirate after?"

"I don't know, but there is something that bothers me about this," Drake said as he observed the scene before him, "Attacking the Strawhats in an attempt to eliminate them and killing all the Aobuke of this area, this sounds like a move a strategist would make to eliminate any threats before moving on to their objective; Nitrous is a slimy pirate, but this kind of planning doesn't seem like something he would do, and the resources that would go into something like this isn't something he has. The only logical explanation for this is that whatever Nitrous is planning is big and he's receiving help from an outside source to do it."

"And who would be able to help a pirate like Nitrous in a plan that would no doubt bring trouble to the whole island?" asked a now interested Smoker.

Drake just chuckled and turned to Smoker with an amused expression.

"Truthfully, a year ago I've taken up investigating a very particular individual and that Investigation has led me here to Oceana, this person would certainly have the tactical mind and resources to pull something like this off. Someone that's said to be on par with the underground broker known only as Joker" Drake explained, "So Smoker, have you ever heard of the Shadow Broker."

* * *

><p>It has only been an hour, yet Laguna seems to be almost finished repairing Zoro's swords. The others were anxious during the wait so they kept themselves busy; Usopp and Mikal looking through the weapons around the cabin, Miles making sure the two don't break anything, and Tashigi observing Laguna work. Tashigi looked on as the red-haired blacksmith worked diligently on Wado Ichimonji, Kitetsu and Shunsui already repaired and sheathed in her hands; Laguna's skill in weapon repair was incredible, it was as if the swords were just made. The way her hands moved were as if she was seeing an artist paint.<p>

Laguna was handling the Wado with care; just from looking at the blade, she saw that it has been through a lot and held a lot of memories within it. An old memory came to the forefront of her mind; she remembered her grandfather saying that, as a child, he witnessed his father craft a sword that he claimed was the best weapon he'd ever forged. If she remembered correctly, that sword was the one she was fixing right now. It was ironic that, as her grandfather told her, Wado was considered an ordinary sword after it was forged, only for it to gain a reputation as a very powerful sword. Now she was fixing the sword that was made by her great-grandfather; just another reason to hate Server as he used a sword her grandfather made to damage the sword her great-grandfather made. She would very like to meet the new owner of the Wado, he obviously took good care of the sword up until Server almost shattered it.

Usopp and Mikal were trading stories about the adventures they've had; Mikal was following up the sniper's tale of sky island with his own story of going to an ancient temple inside a volcano. Miles was looking out the window, surveying the outside; Drake has always told him to be on his guard at all times, even when he's by himself in the middle of a uninhabited island. It was at that moment when he sensed something was coming. At the same time, Mikal's eyes suddenly narrowed as he let out a beast-like growl (imagine a tiger's growl).

"Miles, I smell someone coming; their scent is similar to the two from before." the now feral-looking Mikal informed, scaring Usopp a bit with his expression. The marine nodded as he walked towards the door.

"Tashigi, it looks like we're about to have company; you stay here and protect Ms. Liore as she works on the sword." he told the marine captain as he, Mikal, and a reluctant Usopp left the cabin.

Standing in the middle of the clearing, the three men watched as a single person exited the forest and into the clearing.

"Well, it looks like I have a welcoming party to greet me, I'm feeling so special right now." The person turned out to be none other than Nitrous' top assassin, Shade.

"I've heard of you, you're Shade, a high-level assassin of the Nitro Pirates; you got your bounty and name from an event five years ago, where you infiltrated a marine academy and killed all of the students in their sleep in the dead of night; most of those students were just kids who've just started at that academy." Mile growled out with suppressed rage. Shade merely laughed at this.

"Marines are always a problem for us pirates; what better way to deal with them than to take out the next generation." The way he spoke, as if what he done was no big deal, infuriated Miles and ticked off Usopp and Mikal.

"Now, if you're done talking, I have orders to take out members of the Strawhats and their allies, so be a good little marine and let me at them." spoke the assassin.

"Sorry, but I'm not all for giving an edge to a man like Nitrous." stated the marine, his hands turning into shimmering air. Without giving Shade time to retort, Miles attacked.

**_"Splicing Sound Wave"_**

Miles sent a wave of sound at the assassin. Shade merely smirked under his mask as he leapt over the sound wave. He turned his head only to see Mikal, in his shark-hybrid form, right in front of him. Mikal took a swipe at Shade, only for the assassin to block with his metal claws. He then sent Mikal flying with a kick to the stomach. Just as he landed back on the ground, Usopp went on the offensive.

**_"Sure Kill: Green Star!"_** Usopp, with his trusty slingshot, fired a green pellet at the assassin. Before it hit him, it exploded and Shade found himself bound in vines.

**_"Tangle Weed!"_**

He wasn't even bound for a second before Shade used his claws to free himself from the vines. The assassin then quickly dodged a swipe from Mikal. The two then started to trade blows; each of their claws barely nicking the other's skin. When it looked like Shade was getting the upper hand, Miles appeared behind him and delivered a punch to the assassin's back. The punch was vibrating at sonic speeds, enough to break Shade's spine; unfortunately, the assassin saw this and quickly leapt away from the punch. No sooner did Shade land…

**_"Sure kill: Green Star!"_**

Turning around to see Usopp already pulling back his slingshot, the sniper released eight pellets. Halfway towards Shade, the pellets cracked open to reveal what appeared to be bullet-shaped acorns.

**_"Acorn Missiles!"_**

The projectiles headed towards Shades, who used his claws to deflect the seeds. No sooner did Mikal and Miles appeared on each side of the assassin, poised to strike. Shade jumped and delivered two haki-infused kicks to the side of their heads. With those two out of the way for the moment, Shade quickly made his way in front of Usopp. The Strawhat was scared out of his mind as the assassin raised his claw to strike when…

_Clang!_

Shade's claw met a large claymore. Looking at the new opponent who appeared, Shade was greeted by Laguna's fierce glare. With a swing of her sword, Laguna pushed Shade away. The assassin glared at the redhead.

"So, you're part of the Nitro Pirates, I've been wanting to fight one of you." Laguna stated, hard glare and claymore pointed at Shade.

"Why don't you go inside, girlie, wouldn't want you to break a nail." Shade mocked. His mocking only lasted a moment when a hatchet was suddenly inches in front of his eyes. Reacting quickly, Shade back flipped and avoided losing half his head. Before he completed his flip, a fist of metal made contact with his gut, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying a few feet.

He landed on his back only to roll out of the way as a hammer impacted where his head was just located. Getting to his feet, Shade swiped at Laguna with his claws only for them to meet the surface of Laguna's twin daggers. The two pushed against each other before attacking; blades clashing and sparks flying. Shade didn't seem to be hitting Laguna, while said blacksmith managed to make a few nicks and cuts on the assassin. Shade leapt away to put more distance, only to end up dodging a volley of arrows as Laguna used her bow to shoot at him, Shade barely avoiding the arrows. It would seem like Laguna has a talent for switching between weapons smoothly and quickly in a moment's notice.

After using her last arrow, Laguna drew her daggers and closed the distance between the two fighters. Shade used his claws to block the daggers when a wicked idea came to mind. The two pushed against each other when Shade backed up a bit, causing Laguna to lose balance and fall forward. Shade smiled and raised his claws.

_SLASH!_

Usopp, Mikal, and Miles stared in shock as they witnessed Shade slice off Laguna's outstretched arms. Before the surprised blacksmith could do anything, Shade's claw made contact with her neck.

SLASH!

With a single swipe, Shade decapitated Laguna. He smiled in glee as he saw the head, frozen in shock, fly through the air. A moment later, it hit the ground and…

_SPLASH!_

"What?!"

Shade was shocked when the head suddenly burst into water. He was more surprised when he felt a stone hammer slam into his back, sending him flying. The others were shocked to see Laguna's body, which suddenly had arms again, attack Shade. Water then sprouted from where it had been decapitated. The water then formed into a round shape before it started to take shape. The water receded and Laguna cracked her neck in mild discomfort, her head back on her body. The others were surprised.

"She's a logia power user!" Miles exclaimed.

"That was water we just saw!" Usopp observed.

"That's right." said Laguna as she turned to the group, "I ate the Mizu-Mizu no Mi **_(Water-Water Fruit)_**, turning me into a water woman. Though, I prefer to use my weapons in a fight, unless I'm left with no choice."

"A devil fruit that turns you into water; here I thought I ate a special devil fruit, what with being able to turn into a shark." Mikal commented. A groan drew the group's attention. Looking to the side, they saw Shade, face down on the ground; no doubt the last attack broke his spine. Laguna made her way over to the fallen assassin as Tashigi came out of the cabin, all three sword repaired and sheathed.

"What happened?" she asked.

"Laguna just delivered a beat down to a Nitro pirate. I have to say, she is very strong and a skilled weapons user." Miles commented. The group then moved towards a groaning Shade.

Laguna crouched before Shade, his face contorted in pain. The assassin glared at the redhead; he would've attacked her, but he couldn't feel his legs. Laguna's hand wrapped around his neck and she lifted him up in the air. Shade yelled in pain from hanging in the air, no doubt because of his shattered spine.

"Now, you are going to tell us what Nitrous is planning." Laguna demanded. Shade snarled at her.

"Screw you!" Laguna merely frowned.

"Do you know that if incase your body in water, I can increase its pressure, making it feel as if you are at the ocean floor in an instant. Such pressure wouldn't be pleasant, especially with a broken back." she threatened, face unchanging, "Or, I can simply wrap your head in water and wait until the bubbles stop."

Suffice to say, the rest of the group, especially Usopp, were a bit disturbed by the blacksmith's threats and cold demeanor.

* * *

><p>Deep in the forest, two guards stood before a large gate. This gate was attached to a wall that circled the entire kolto lake. This was prevented anyone but high ranking officials of Oceana from getting anywhere near the lake. The two guards stood at attention; guarding the entrance to the lake was about the most important job on the island. So much so that only those who've been trained their whole lives and were masters of different fighting styles and weapons were chosen to be guards. Yet that wouldn't help with what's about to happen.<p>

_SLASH!_

The guards could only gasp in pain as Server ran his sword whip through the guards' chests. They struggled only for a moment before dying. Retracting his weapon, Server moved towards the gate. With just to swipes, the gate was in pieces. Server sheathed his sword just as Nitrous came with the rest of the crew out of the forest. The pirate smirked at the now open gate.

"Alright boys, let's farm us some kolto!"

**_To Be Continued…_**

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry for the long wait and if this chapter is a bit short. Like I said, I'm a big procrastinator. Hope you like Laguna. She is Erza's One Piece counterpart; for those who've seen Fairy Tail, particularly the edolas arc, you will understand what I mean. Check out my other stories, particularly my own original story 'Grimoire of Fables', my new Rosario vampire story, and my upcoming SAOxToriko story. I'm gonna update the rest of my stories. Mastergamer out.<strong>


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